Human-environment interactions and landscape dynamics in a forest/savanna mosaic situation : Bateke north chiefdom - Democratic Republic of Congo ; Interactions humains-milieux et dynamiques paysagères en situation de mosaïque forêt/savane : chefferie des Bateke Nord - République Démocratique du Congo ; Human-environment interactions and landscape dynamics in a forest/savanna mosaic situation : Bateke north chiefdom - Democratic Republic of Congo: Spatio-temporal analysis of village socio-ecosystems in Central Africa ; Interactions humains-milieux et dynamiques paysagères en situation de mosaïque forêt/savane : chefferie des Bateke Nord - République Démocratique du Congo: Analyse spatio-temporelle des socio-écosystèmes villageois d’Afrique Centrale

Studying a landscape resembles drawing a social and environmental portrait of a society residing there. Linking landscape dynamics with human practices and social rules and norms governing access to space, this research examined local variability of relations between human beings and their environments in a heterogeneous landscape – a forest/savanna mosaic in central Africa – at different spatial and temporal scales. To accomplish this analysis, the landscape was approached from a socio- ecological perspective, placing it at the center of a complex system with interacting social and ecological components. In particular, the study examined landscape from (i) production and natural resource exploitation systems, and (ii) local knowledge and perceptions. Because of the hybrid nature of the landscape concept, which is at the interface of nature and society, this study is transdisciplinary, integrating tools and methods from the social and natural sciences. Comprehensive interviews, questionnaires, group workshops, botanical surveys, GPS surveys, as well as analyses by remote sensing, geographic information systems and statistics were methods mobilized in this thesis. The results of this research contribute to knowledge about a particular environment in a zone that remains poorly documented, to fuel debates and support local policies concerning the management, exploitation and conservation of natural resources, as well as the sustainable development of human populations there. ; Étudier un paysage revient à dresser un état des lieux de la société qui y réside, à la fois dans ses composantes sociales et environnementales. S’agissant de mettre en relation la dynamique du paysage avec les pratiques humaines et les règles sociales régissant l’accès à l’espace, cette recherche a été conduite à différentes échelles spatiales et temporelles afin de mettre en exergue la variabilité locale des relations entre les êtres humains et leur milieu au sein d’un paysage hétérogène, une mosaïque forêt/savane d’Afrique Centrale. Pour ...