RETRACTED ARTICLE: Modeling on Long term land use change detection Analysis of Kabul River Basin, Afghanistan by using geospatial techniques

Abstract

Land use and land cover are a significant segment in understanding the interactions of human activities with the earth. Along these lines, it is essential to be able to simulate changes. LULC change has the most effect on a river basin; therefore, in this paper, an endeavor is made to study the changes in land use and land cover in the Kabul River Sub-basin from 1972 to 2019. The land use land cover classification was performed based on the satellite imageries of 1972, 1979, 1989, 1999, 2009, and 2019. Arc GIS 10.6.1 and ERDAS Imagine 2018 are used to detect the LULC changes during the last 47 years in Kabul city, i.e., from 1972 to 2019. Studies on LULC show that change in LULC has a direct effect on water resources. The present study has brought to light that forest area that occupied about 3.94% of the Kabul’s area in 1972 diminished to 1.67% in 2019. Agricultural plantation, built-up area, and barren land/wasteland also have experienced change. The built-up area (settlement) has increased from 3.20 to 9.41% of the total area. Agricultural zones have also increased from 4.66 to 8.96% of the entire area. However, drought and civil war are the main reason for deforestation. Still, LULC change shows the scarcity of water in the study area, which must be considered as a severe issue.