Abstract
Changes in land use/land cover (LU/LC) are a major factor driving global environmental change,especially in arid and semi-arid regions. As a result, expansion of agriculture and urbanization is occurring inecologically fragile lands. This paper analyzed and assessed land use/land cover changes in an agriculturalcenter Tabuk in Saudi Arabia, object-based classification technique (OBC) using Landsat images for sevenyears (1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2009, and 2015) were used for LU/LC analysis. The urban growth typefor Tabuk was measured using Urban Growth Analysis Tool (UGAT) within a GIS. The study found anincrease in urban areas from 48 km2 in 1985 to 315 km2 in 2015. A significant increase of 61% in agriculturalland, from 1985 (112 km2) to (577 km2) in 2015. This expansion is occurring at the expense of the barren landwith a loss of 768 km2. An overall classification accuracy ranged from 94% to 97% across all images. Theurban growth type for Tabuk was determined as 72% to be of the extension-type over the study period, withurban areas expanding in a direction towards the northwest and west area. Assessing spatial and temporalLU/LC change has aided to understand the impacts of expanding agriculture and urban areas. The LU/LC mapscould aid government planners and decision-makers to analyze and manage agricultural and urban growth.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
