Évaluation de la dynamique de l’occupation du sol dans la zone humide Ramsar de Tahaddart (Nord-ouest du Maroc)

Abstract

Assessment of land cover dynamics in the Tahaddart Ramsar wetland (North-western Morocco). Land cover and land cover dynamics, in both time and space, were analysed in the Tahaddart wetland (Northern Morocco) to determine the evolution of the environmental quality of this Site of Biological and Ecological Interest (since 1996), also classified as a Ramsar site (since 2005). Remote sensing was used to estimate the impact of land use changes on natural habitats over a 35-year period from 1978 to 2013. The first image used MSS captures from 1978 with a spatial resolution of 80 m. The resolution was improved since 1991 with the use of Landsat 4 satellite images (spatial resolution of 30 m in multi-band modes) and then with satellite images from Landsat 7 and 8 (spatial resolution of 15 m in panchromatic mode). The images were classified and then analysed using Erdas Imagine 9.2 software program. The results were verified using a confusion matrix, which provided a global precision rates ranging from 82 to 86 %. This qualitative data on the land cover evolution revealed that despite its important conservation status, the Tahaddart wetland has been subject to substantial changes over time. Important declines in natural habitats such as forests, estuarine vegetation and sand dunes were observed for the benefit of an increase of areas of urbanization and bare soil. This analysis demonstrates the important anthropogenic pressures that affect the site and the need to enforce current legislation in order to conserve local biodiversity over the long-term.