Land use change and crop rotation analysis of a government well district in Rashda village – Dakhla Oasis, Egypt based on satellite data

Abstract

Dakhla Oasis is located in the heart of the Western Desert of Egypt 190km to the West of the Kharga Oasis where it contains highly fertile lands rich in water and it supports a higher population compared to the Kharga Oasis. The study area is mainly concentrated in the Rashda village where Well No. 3 Irrigation District is located to the northwest of the village.Satellite imageries of Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) 1972 and 1984, Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) 1988, and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) 2000 were used to determine the change in landuse and change in elevation with its relation to landuse. The automated unsupervised classification technique was applied to delineate the different landuse classes. Landsat – 5/TM and Landsat – 7/ETM+images in the period between 2001 and 2010 have been used to study crop rotation at the Rashda village to detect the amount of vegetation cover and its condition in the Well No.3 district.The land use change analysis showed that the extension of cultivated land was already completed by the 1980s in the North and South subdistricts, after which it spread toward the West. Because the altitude in the West subdistrict is lower than the wells, irrigation water could be distributed adequately if the condition of the irrigation channel was well maintained. The relationship between the irrigation level and plant production was not favorable in the West compared with other subdistricts. The cultivated area in the West district has been increasing since the 1970s. According to the crop rotation analysis, the different productivity of the subdistricts was caused by several factors, including the land altitude and the distance from the well, as well as other factors such as social relationships in the village.