###### Abstract  
Understanding the factors influencing the vulnerability of forested areas is crucial for human well-being and effective governance of ecosystem supply and demand. Based on remote sensing data, this study also considered ten natural and human variables as indexes to explore the main influencing factors that may impact the vulnerability of the Thies region's forested areas. The 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020 satellite image data were processed using ArcGIS 10.6 and ENVI 5.1 software. The methodology includes using the transfer matrix approach and calculating the geographic landscape index to describe the dominant morphology of forested areas. Furthermore, a mixed linear regression model was built to establish the connection between forested areas and the potential contributing components. Our study revealed that the forested areas led to relative fragmentation, with an average of 88 patches for Aggregation Index (AI), 3.25 for Largest Patch Index (LPI), 2.50 for Patch Density (PD), and 112 for Landscape Shape Index (LSI) between 2005 and 2020. In addition, the transfer matrix indicated that the loss of forestry areas was about \(-78.8\) km\({}^{2}\) for agricultural land, \(-127.8\) km\({}^{2}\) for bare land, and \(-65.3\) km\({}^{2}\) for artificial surfaces. The most critical factors that influenced forested areas were agricultural and manufactural added value, rainfall (\(p<0.05\)), slope, distance to the road, and agricultural sworn area (\(p<0.001\)). Overall, this investigation has revealed that the effective management of forested areas in the Thies region requires an understandable assessment. It was observed that both human anthropogenic and natural factors significantly contribute to the decline in forested areas. T 2024 14 2427 202  
functioning of the Earth's ecological systems present a significant threat to human survival [2]. For instance, issues such as food security are closely tied to the protection of cultivated land [3] and depend, in part, on the sustainable use of natural resources [4]. Hence, scientific research finds the challenges facing forested areas intriguing, especially in the context of uncoordinated economic development and the degradation of the ecological environment [5]. These challenges require solid and long-term solutions, particularly in arid regions such as Senegal. In arid regions, desertification is frequently associated with the deterioration of soil quality, which depends on various factors, including environmental changes and anthropogenic effects. Forest clearing significantly affects the climate system and land-atmosphere interactions [6], leading to changes in land use and land cover (LULC), which can influence various ecosystems and have implications for natural habitats and human survival [7]. In Senegal's Sahel region, droughts and human activities, such as farming, cattle overgrazing, bushfires, and monoculture, have negatively impacted the delicate ecological balances [5,8]. If socio-economic development poses a challenge to properly preserving terrestrial ecosystem services, natural factors also play a significant role. Global climate change is projected to increase the severity and length of droughts across many regions, potentially pushing ecosystems beyond their tipping points [9]. According to [PERSON] (2004), Senegal has experienced a decline in forest cover, with forest decreasing from 4.4% in 1965 to 2.6% in 2000 [10]. Additionally, Senegal faces the repercussions of rainfall variability, leading to the degradation of its natural environment [8]. Following a drought, there is a decline in plant cover, erosion, runoff, and intensified processes of salinization in the soil [11]. These factors, including rain and hydric erosion, are closely linked, contributing to the deterioration of terrestrial ecosystem services that threatens human well-being. In Senegal's Thies region, considered to be the country's second economic region, rapid socio-economic development is exerting critical pressure on land use, particularly in forested areas.