Abstract
The study goal is to monitor and evaluate the significant changes in land use/land cover (LULC) in Al-Yarmouk basin (YB) within only 8 year. (YB) is shared between Syria, Jordan, Palestinian Authority, and Israel. (YB) has been affected not only by water scarcity, frequent drought conditions; But nowadays provide proof that the major factor responsible for the current of the significant changes in (LULC) in the study area is the Syrian civil war that began in mid-2011, and the Syrian refugee influx into Jordan has been massive, more than 660,935 Syrians were registered in three camps; Za’atri the largest refugee camp in the world, Azraq and the Emirate, according to the Official figures, with the highest density about 58 not 50 person look; Fig.5 in YB. Landsat Thematic Mapper Landsat 5 (2010) and 8-OLI (2018) covering a period of 8 years. An on-screen digitizing methodology has been employed. The images of the study area were categorized into four different classes: vegetation, built-up area, barren area, and water bodies. Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was applied at a threshold value≥ 0.1 to distinguish between the vegetated area and non-vegetated areas. IN this study, the NDVI and LULC based classification have indicated that significant change in (LULC) between a year 2010 and 2018. The Major change has been found in the vegetation area which decreased by (-12.02%), in addition, an increase of the built up area by (+1.69%). Al-Wehda dam area decreased by -0.08%. Linear regression trends showed a slight decrease in the mean rainfall during the study period (2010/2018). However, this finding is not statistically significant at the 95 % confidence level.
Highlights
Jordan has suffered from limited water resources and high population growth and it is classified as the most Arab countries that suffers from water scarcity in the region (Haddadin 2001); But Jordan was a heaven for migrations, especially from Palestine, Iraq, and from Syria as a result of the Syrian civil war. (YB) is the biggest and the most important in terms of river in Jordan and it suffering from drought (Al-Dardoor et al 2013; Alsharifa et al 2018; Gleick 2014)
Normalized difference vegetation index NDVI have been used for analysis of change detection in many studies to distinguish between the vegetated area and non-vegetated areas (Singh, et al 1989; Al-Husban 2019; Al-Husban and Zghoul 2017; Al-Husban and Almanasyeh 2017)
The NDVI value calculated from Landsat satellite image of the year 2010 ranges from 0.60 to -0.4
Summary
Jordan has suffered from limited water resources and high population growth and it is classified as the most Arab countries that suffers from water scarcity in the region (Haddadin 2001); But Jordan was a heaven for migrations, especially from Palestine, Iraq, and from Syria as a result of the Syrian civil war. (YB) is the biggest and the most important in terms of river in Jordan and it suffering from drought (Al-Dardoor et al 2013; Alsharifa et al 2018; Gleick 2014). This paper is based on two years of satellite data represents 2010, and 2018 to calculate LULC and NDVI changes, in (YB). The annual historical water discharge decreased from 467 MCM, to 14 MCM during the last few decades, As a result of the historical water conflict between Jordan, Syria, and Israel, since these all these countries are suffering from water resources scarcity, Jordan In addition to the Population growth, immigration and refugees, (Alsharifa et al 2018).
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