Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Land Use and Land Cover Changes in Shiekan Locality-North Kordofan State-Sudan Using Remote Sensing

Abstract

The study was conducted in Shiekan locality in North Kordofan State, Sudan and aimed to identify, assess and mapping of the land use and land cover (LULC) changes and trends in the last three decades (1989 to 2019). Satellite imageries of Landsat 5 TM (1989) and (2009), Landsat 7 ETM+ (2000), and Landsat 8 OLI (2019), covering path and row 174/51 and 175/51 were acquired in dry seasons. Image pre-proccessig, image classification (maximum likelihood) and accuracy assessment were applied. Remotely sensed data were processed and analyzed using ERDAS 9.1 and ArcGIS10.0 software. Results showed that the LULC in Sheikan locality were identified into eight classes (water, trees, shrubs, sandy soil, gardud lands, agricultural lands, rangeland and bare soil, and residential). The trees class showed an increase from 2.36% (2000) to 2.51% (2009) and decreasing in 2019 (1.87%). While, classified imageries indicated an increase of agricultural land from 69.2% in 1989 to 72.2% in 2019 as dominant class, followed by shrub lands increased from 18% in 1989 to 23.1% in 2019 in Sheikan locality. The overall obtained accuracy for classified maps was 87.50%, 89.29%, 90.20%, and 80.77% for 1989, 2000, 2009, and 2019, respectively. The study revealed that expansion of agricultural lands, climate change and illicit felling of trees are the main reseaons for natural resources degradation, mainly forest and rangelands in Shiekan locality. Use of remote sensing and GIS in assessment and monitoring of natural resources in arid and semi-arid area is highly recommended.