Remote Sensing Applications in Monitoring Desertification in Borno State

Borno State in North East Nigeria faces compounding challenges of security-induced land abandonment and progressive desertification driven by Saharan influence and reduced vegetative cover. This study applies remote sensing to monitor desertification dynamics in Borno State using MODIS vegetation products and Sentinel-2 imagery. The Rain Use Efficiency metric is computed to separate climate-driven from human-induced vegetation decline across LGAs accessible for satellite-based monitoring. Inter-annual NDVI trend analysis over a 10-year period reveals statistically significant browning trends in the northern LGAs of Monguno, Kukawa, and Abadam. Areas of abandoned farmland show differential recovery trajectories depending on pre-conflict vegetation baseline conditions. The study integrates conflict displacement data from UNHCR to contextualise how population movements have paradoxically allowed some degraded areas to recover while increasing pressure on remaining accessible agricultural zones. A monitoring protocol is recommended for the Lake Chad Basin Commission's Nigeria component for tracking desertification trends in the conflict-affected north-east. Keywords: desertification, remote sensing, Borno State, vegetation monitoring, Sahel