Analysis Of Land Use Change Research Articles

Multi-Temporal Built-Up Grids of Brazilian Cities: How Trends and Dynamic Modelling Could Help on Resilience Challenges?

The northeastern Brazilian region has been vulnerable to hydrometeorological extremes, especially droughts, for centuries. A combination of natural climate variability (most of the area is semi-arid) and water governance problems increases extreme events’ impacts, especially in urban areas. Spatial analysis and visualisation of possible land-use change (LUC) zones and trends (urban growth vectors) can be useful for planning actions or decision-making policies for sustainable development. The Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL) produces global spatial information, evidence-based analytics, and knowledge describing Earth’s human presence. In this work, the GHSL built-up grids for selected Brazilian cities were used to generate urban models using GIS (geographic information system) technologies and cellular automata for spatial pattern simulations of urban growth. In this work, six Brazilian cities were selected to generate urban models using GIS technologies and cellular automata for spatial pattern simulations of urban sprawl. The main goal was to provide predictive scenarios for water management (including simulations) and urban planning in a region highly susceptible to extreme hazards, such as floods and droughts. The northeastern Brazilian cities’ analysis raises more significant challenges because of the lack of land-use change field data. Findings and conclusions show the potential of dynamic modelling to predict scenarios and support water sensitive urban planning, increasing cities’ coping capacity for extreme hazards.

Soil carbon dynamics and aquatic metabolism of a wet–dry tropics wetland system

Freshwater wetlands are a key component of the global carbon cycle. Wet–dry tropics wetlands function as wet-season carbon sinks and dry-season carbon sources with low aquatic metabolism controlled by predictably seasonal, yet magnitude-variable flow regimes and inundation patterns. However, these dynamics have not been adequately quantified in Australia’s relatively unmodified wet–dry tropics freshwater wetlands. A baseline understanding is required before analysis of land-use or climate change impacts on these aquatic ecosystems can occur. This study characterises geomorphology and sedimentology within a seasonally connected wet–dry tropics freshwater wetland system at Kings Plains, Queensland, Australia, and quantifies soil carbon stocks and wet- and dry-season aquatic metabolism. Soil carbon stocks derived from loss-on-ignition on samples to 1 m depth were 51.5 ± 7.8 kg C m−2, higher than other wet–dry tropics wetlands globally, with potential for long-term retention at greater depths. Gross primary productivity of phytoplankton (GPP) and planktonic respiration (PR) measured through biological oxygen demand bottle experiments in the water column of sediment inundated under laboratory conditions show overall low GPP and PR in both wet- and dry-season samples (all wetland samples were heterotrophic with GPP/PR < 1). Despite the short-term dominance of aquatic respiration processes leading to net release of carbon in the water column under these conditions, there is appreciable long-term storage of carbon in sediment in the Kings Plains wetlands. This demonstrates the importance of wet–dry-tropics wetland systems as hotspots of carbon sequestration, locally, regionally and globally, and consideration should be given to their conservation and management in this context.

National Level Land-Use Changes in Functional Urban Areas in Poland, Slovakia, and Czechia

Land-use and cover change (LUCC) impacts global environmental changes. Therefore, it is crucial to obtain cross-national level LUCC data that represents past and actual LUCC. As urban areas exhibit the most significant dynamics of the changes, accompanied by such processes as urban sprawl, it seems desirable to take into account LUCC information from such areas to acquire national level information. The paper analyses land-use changes (LUCs) in urban areas in Czechia, Poland, and Slovakia. The analysis is based on functional urban area (FUA) data from the European Urban Atlas project for 2006 and 2012. The area of urbanised land grew at the expense of agricultural areas, semi-natural areas, and wetlands over the investigated period in all three countries. The authors determined LUC direction models in urban areas based on the identified land-use change. The proposed LUC direction models for the investigated period and area should offer national level LUC data for such purposes as modelling of future changes or can be the point of reference for planning analyses. The paper proposes the following models: mean model, median model, weighted mean model where the weight is the urbanised to vegetated area ratio, and weighted mean model where the weight is the share of urbanised areas. According to the proposed LUC models, areas considered as urbanised grow in FUAs on average in six years by 5.5900‰ in Czechia, 7.5936‰ in Poland, and 4.0769‰ in Slovakia. Additionally, the change models facilitated determination of a LUC dynamics ratio in each country. It reached the highest values in Poland and the lowest in Slovakia.

Assessment of Land Ecological Security and Analysis of Influencing Factors in Chaohu Lake Basin, China from 1998–2018

The land ecosystem provides essential natural resources for the survival and development of human beings. Therefore, land ecological security (LES) acts as a vital part of the sustainable development of human society and economy. This study included a dynamic analysis of land use change in Chaohu Lake Basin (CLB) in China from 1998 to 2018, evaluating the spatiotemporal patterns of LES at both the administrative district scale and grid scale (200 m × 200 m). Then, geographic detector was applied to analyze the influence of the assessment index on LES. The results show that in the 2008–2018 period, land use changed more significantly compared to the 1998–2008 period. The continuous extension of urban land led to a decrease in the areas of other land use types. In the CLB (administrative district scale), the LES levels varied throughout the study period. In Changfeng, Feixi, and the other three regions, the LES has been significantly improved. However, the LES in six other regions showed different degrees of decline, particularly in Hexian and Urban Hefei. Simultaneously, the LES showed a gradual improvement at a 200 m × 200 m grid scale level. The influence of anthropogenic factors on the LES was stronger than natural factors. Findings from this study provide reliable guidance for improving the ecosystem environment in ecologically fragile areas.

Analysis of Land Use Changes and Driving Forces in the Yanhe River Basin from 1980 to 2015

Based on the support of RS and GIS technology, this paper analyzes the spatial and temporal variation characteristics and driving forces of land use in the Yanhe River Basin through the processing and interpretation of remote sensing images in different periods from 1980 to 2015 and the methods of the land use transfer matrix and dynamic attitude. The results show that cropland, grassland, and forest land are the three types of land use with the most obvious changes, while urban land and water body have relatively small changes in the Yanhe River Basin. The transfer between cropland, forest land, and grassland and urban land is very obvious, among which the conversion rate of cropland is the highest. During the 15 years from 2000 to 2015, the land use types of the Yanhe River Basin changed by 13.17%, with an average annual growth rate of 0.88%. The implementation of ecological restoration and governance policy is the direct driving force of land use change in the Yanhe River Basin. The results obtained in this study can provide reference basis for land use planning and management and land use structure optimization in the Yanhe River Basin in the future.

GEOSPATIAL TECHNIQUES APPROACH FOR LANDUSE AND LANDCOVER CHANGE ANALYSIS IN BALTANA OF ZIRAKPUR, PUNJAB AND PART OF SECTOR-19, PANCHKULA CITY, HARYANA

In urban area information on landuse and land cover is important for monitoring, planning and management land resources. Remote sensing satellite data and Geographical Information System (GIS) are vital tools in mapping of land use and land cover in urban areas because of availability of historical high resolution satellite data. In the present study landuse and landcover change analysis have been done in Baltana area of Zirakpur of Punjab and part of Sector-19, Panchkula city,Haryana. The study area is located between the latitudes 30 40'50.62”N to 30 40'6.91”N and longitudeso76 49'18.18”E to 76.50'5.61”E. The study area covers an area of 96.49 Hect. Google earth satellite data for the years 2002 and 2018 have been used in the study for change analysis in land use and land cover. The study shows that during 2002 to 2018 built-up area increased 29.57 Hect., agriculture land increased 2.92 Hect., agriculture plantation area increased 1.48 Hect., park area increased 0.54 Hect, road area increased 7.53 Hect,, vacant land area decreased 41.30 Hect and drainage area decreased 0.74 Hect. This study is highly useful for planning and management of land use and land cover in the study area.

Land-Use Change Analysis of National Southern Cross Road Route Development in Bantul Regency

The National Southern Cross Road Route well known as Jalan Jalur Lintas Selatan (JJLS) in Indonesia. The segment which crosses Bantul Regency has 16.65 km long. The development of JJLS will have various kinds of impacts on the community around the road infrastructure. This study wants to know how the impact of the development that saw from the spatial dynamics of land-use change. The study area is located in Poncosari, Gadingsari, Srigading, Tirtohargo, and Parangtritis Village. We process the data using the map overlay technique then analyze it with quantitative descriptive. The results of this study are the development of JJLS in Bantul Regency has not significantly affected the land-use changes. It is evident from the location of the land-use change which is far from the road and tends to be disheveled. The Land-use changes that occur do not form a specific pattern such as the pattern of conversion of agricultural land into non-agricultural land. The less significant changes in land use are caused by the condition of the JJLS which is not yet fully connected. Moreover, the status of land ownership around JJLS is Sultan Ground so a special permit is needed if the community wants to use the land.

Landuse Change Analysis of Etiosa Local Government Area of Lagos State Nigeria, from 2004 to 2010

The results and information obtained from analysis in this study using Satellite Imagery and Geospatial techniques has shown that it is possible to effectively monitor the changing landuse trends and patterns and other developments within the study area over the years. Desired analyses and inferences were also carried to achieve specific goals. It also demonstrated the type and extent of land use or land cover at various times within the study area. The application of satellite imagery is a useful method for the fast collection of information to assess the dynamic changes of natural objects, natural resources and of the earth surface in general. GIS will continue to be a valuable tool when decisions must be made quickly and lives are to be affected. Therefore, well informed investments in the establishment and running of satellite ground stations and the GIS technology can only be a rewarding enterprise, now and in the future. It is obvious at a glance to see that Eti-osa Local Government has undergone a series of change in Land use and land cover area within the past few years. Though economically viable, it however raises environmental concerns on its effect on the ecosystem, drainage and vegetation of that area. The result as shown on the satellite images for those two periods has demonstrated a drastic change in the distribution of the three main features which we studied i.e Built-up area, Undeveloped area and water bodies with the quota of built up area going higher. This can be seen as a high rise in the state of urbanization as witnessed in other cities around the world. From the charts plotted for the varying landuse types and its percentage coverage, it is noticed that the undeveloped land mass has decreased with an increase in built up area. This is attributed to the increase in development (the built up areas) and an increase in commercial activities over the years leading to a continuous decrease in the undeveloped area. The water bodies too are affected as there is massive land reclamation and sand filling projects going on around the local government.

Analysis of land use change for advancing national greenhouse gas inventory using land cover map: focus on Sejong City

Analysis of land use change for advancing national greenhouse gas inventory using land cover map: focus on Sejong City

Analysis of land use change in Xi’an based on GIS and RS

Along with fast economic growth, population increase and accelerated urbanization, the land use pattern of Xi’an is experiencing tectonic changes. Studying the land use change volume and spatial distribution in different regions in Xi’an will provide a basis for future studies on the urban spatial arrangement, land use management optimization and sustainable land use development. Based on GIS and RS technologies, this study explored the land use changes in Xi’an, analyzed the type, quantity, spatial arrangement and density of land use change, and introduced quantitative parameters including the dynamic level of land use, the transfer matrix, etc., for analysis. The results revealed that: 1) the major land use types in Xi’an were farmland, forest and built-up land; 2) in these 15 years, the area of grassland and built-up land increased, while the area of farmland decreased; 3) the dynamic level of comprehensive land use change increased, indicating intensive land use changes in Xi’an.

Spatiotemporal Analysis of Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) Changes and Precipitation Trends in Shanghai

The impacts of anthropogenic land use and land cover (LULC) changes on the spatiotemporal distribution of precipitation in megacities have been highlighted in studies on urban climate change. In this study, we conducted a quantitative analysis of urban growth on the impact on precipitation in Shanghai, China. We considered four periods of LULC data in 1979, 1990, 2000 and 2010, in addition to the long-term (1979–2010) trend of daily precipitation. The results indicate that the trend in precipitation exhibit different characteristics for urban (Ur), outskirt of urban (OUr) and outer suburb (OS) regions. Most Ur regions had an upward trend in annual and extreme precipitation during 1979–2010, while annual precipitation for the OUr and OS regions exhibited a decreasing trend. From 1979 to 2010, the areas of fastest expansion were located in the OUr region. The OS region, far away from the central area, had a relatively lower rate of change. In addition, OUr regions with rapid LULC changes exhibited higher increasing trends in annual and daily extreme precipitation, which is critical for the identification of frequent precipitation areas and the reliable projection of further changes.

Time series analysis of land use and land cover changes related to urban heat island intensity: Case of Bangkok Metropolitan Area in Thailand

This study focuses on time series analysis of land use and land cover (LULC) characteristics and its relationships with urban heat island (UHI) intensity in Bangkok Metropolitan area. The study is aimed at examining impact of LULC changes on the greenness and land surface temperature (LST) as well as the relationship of LST, LULC and Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). We consider the heat intensity, hot spot zones, and land use characteristics related hotspot areas. LULC classification based on satellite images taken by Landsat data in summer dates of 1991, 1997, 2005 and 2016, were classified into four LULC types: built up area; vegetation area; barren land; and surface water. UHI was studied by deriving LST based satellite images method using the thermal band of Landsat satellite in the same periods as of LULC classification. The results show that the built up area was approximately 30% in 1991, then, it was sharply increasing to approximately 55% of the total area in 2016. The changing trends of LST tend to be increasing while the value of NDVI with dense vegetation meaning tend to be declining over the study period. The significant negative correlation between LST and NDVI implied that the lower biomass can higher LST. UHI intensity was also continually rising from 11.91 °C in 1991 to 16.21 °C in 2016 leading to nearly 5 °C increase in Bangkok. High density of buildings, no vegetation areas and large area of concrete pavement are the most significant related to the hot spot areas.

Analysis of Hydrological Response to Support Management Planning for Opak Hulu Watershed, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta

Land use change is one of the causes of the decreasing of hydrological function that affects the hydrological response of a watershed. Planning of watershed management needs to be conducted to improve the hydrological function of the watershed. This study aims to determine the hydrological response in supporting watershed management planning in Opak Hulu Watershed. This research was conducted using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) hydrological modeling. The method used included data collection, processing of input data, running of SWAT model, calibration, validation, and the decision of the best watershed management scenarios. The results of the analysis of land use changes in the Opak Hulu Watershed in 2012–2017 had a significant increase in mixed upland agriculture (3.21%) and shrubs (1.43%). Meanwhile, open field (2,31%) and dry land agriculture (1.71%) decreased significantly. Based on the analyzed hydrological scenario, Soil and Water Conservation techniques can decrease the surface runoff and increase the lateral flow and base flow. The scenario is able to decrease the surface runoff by 542.22 mm (27.09%). It increases lateral flow and base flow by 321.82 mm (13.15%) and 797.28 mm (18.32%), respectively. The best watershed management planning with Soil and Water Conservation technique is able to reach Annual Flow Coefficient value to 0,33 (moderate) and 69,85 (moderate) for Flow Regime Coefficient. Keywords: land use, soil and water conservation techniques, SWAT model, watershed

Analisis Respons Hidrologi untuk Mendukung Perencanaan Pengelolaan Sub-DAS Opak Hulu, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta

Land use change is one of the causes of the decreasing of hydrological function that affects the hydrological response of a watershed. Planning of watershed management needs to be conducted to improve the hydrological function of the watershed. This study aims to determine the hydrological response in supporting watershed management planning in Opak Hulu Watershed. This research was conducted using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) hydrological modeling. The method used included data collection, processing of input data, running of SWAT model, calibration, validation, and the decision of the best watershed management scenarios. The results of the analysis of land use changes in the Opak Hulu Watershed in 2012–2017 had a significant increase in mixed upland agriculture (3.21%) and shrubs (1.43%). Meanwhile, open field (2,31%) and dry land agriculture (1.71%) decreased significantly. Based on the analyzed hydrological scenario, Soil and Water Conservation techniques can decrease the surface runoff and increase the lateral flow and base flow. The scenario is able to decrease the surface runoff by 542.22 mm (27.09%). It increases lateral flow and base flow by 321.82 mm (13.15%) and 797.28 mm (18.32%), respectively. The best watershed management planning with Soil and Water Conservation technique is able to reach Annual Flow Coefficient value to 0,33 (moderate) and 69,85 (moderate) for Flow Regime Coefficient. Keywords: land use, soil and water conservation techniques, SWAT model, watershed

Governing Landscapes for Ecosystem Services: A Participatory Land-Use Scenario Development in the Northwest Montane Region of Vietnam.

Land-use planning is an important policy instrument for governing landscapes to achieve multifunctionality in rural areas. This paper presents a case study conducted in Na Nhan commune in the northwest montane region of Vietnam to assess land-use strategies toward multiple ecosystem services, through integrated land-use planning. The assessment employed the Land-Use Planning for Multiple Ecosystem Services (LUMENS) framework and a number of methods and tools, including land-use mapping, GIS-based land-use change analysis, survey questionnaire, rapid carbon-stock appraisal for different land uses, qualitative ecosystem services assessment, and a backcasting technique. Our findings suggest that a lack of participation and acknowledgement of customary land-use practices inhibit successful implementation of current land-use planning and relevant policies such as payment for forest environmental services and the nationally determined contributions. The study also confirmed the contributions of forests and the land-use sector in achieving national emission reduction targets, especially when local stakeholders are involved early in the planning process. Other findings with important policy implications are: (i) tree-based land uses such as agroforestry are key to securing multiple ecosystem services and are highly relevant to local stakeholders, yet their potentials were not made explicit in current debates at the local level; (ii) local stakeholders are highly aware of the co-benefits of ecosystem services to climate-change mitigation and this should be considered in nationally determined contributions; and (iii) an approach for integrated, participatory land-use planning can help catalyze stakeholder engagement, and hence improve governance in rural landscapes.

Harmonised LUCAS in-situ land cover and use database for field surveys from 2006 to 2018 in the European Union

Accurately characterizing land surface changes with Earth Observation requires geo-located ground truth. In the European Union (EU), a tri-annual surveyed sample of land cover and land use has been collected since 2006 under the Land Use/Cover Area frame Survey (LUCAS). A total of 1351293 observations at 651780 unique locations for 106 variables along with 5.4 million photos were collected during five LUCAS surveys. Until now, these data have never been harmonised into one database, limiting full exploitation of the information. This paper describes the LUCAS point sampling/surveying methodology, including collection of standard variables such as land cover, environmental parameters, and full resolution landscape and point photos, and then describes the harmonisation process. The resulting harmonised database is the most comprehensive in-situ dataset on land cover and use in the EU. The database is valuable for geo-spatial and statistical analysis of land use and land cover change. Furthermore, its potential to provide multi-temporal in-situ data will be enhanced by recent computational advances such as deep learning.

Spatio-temporal analysis of land use and land cover change: a systematic model inter-comparison driven by integrated modelling techniques

ABSTRACT Currently, land use and land cover change (LULCC) is of utmost concern for global environmental change and sustainability. Among the portfolio of techniques, modelling is considered as the best approach to explore LULC dynamics. We have performed a model inter-comparison exercise (including hybrid and non-hybrid models) using multiple performance metrics to identify the best modelling approach for the subsequent projection of future LULC. The methodology is demonstrated on the Subarnarekha basin of Eastern India by utilizing the LANDSAT imagery of 1989, 1994, 2006, and 2011. Before LULC modelling, the cross-tabulation and trend-surface analyses were performed to identify dominant land transitions in post-classification maps. Temporal mapping results over 1989–2011 exhibited a drastic decrease in the area under dense forest (25.7% to 19.0%), a substantial increase in the area under scrubland (21.0% to 26.1%) and a nominal reduction in the coverage of the agricultural land (51.2% to 49.0%). Four integrated models namely Multilayer perceptron-Markov Model (MLP-MC), Logistic Regression-Markov Model (LR-MC), and two hybrid models, i.e. Multilayer perceptron-Cellular automata-Markov model (MLP-CA-MC) and Logistic Regression-Cellular automata-Markov model (LR-CA-MC) were tested for their suitability for predicting future LULC for the basin. Based on the multiple model validation techniques, the MLP-MC model performed the best. MLP-MC model subsequently used a non-stationary relationship between selected explanatory variables and LULC to predict the future LULC for 2020 and 2030. The MLP-MC model projected that relative to the level of 2011, agricultural land, dense forest, and barren land may decrease by 8.3, 28.2 and 23.5%, respectively, and scrubland, built-up area, and water bodies may increase by 22.5, 87.3 and 13.3%, respectively, by 2030. Our findings contradict the prevalent view regarding the nationwide intensification of agriculture over the Indian subcontinent but are consistent with the national decreasing trend in the dense forest. The study provides a transferable methodology for the systematic comparison of LULC models (including hybrid and non-hybrid) against multiple performance metrics. The outcomes of the study may help land-use planners, environmentalist, and policymakers in framing better policies and management .recommendations.

Quantitative assessment of the drainage morphometric characteristics of Chaohu Lake Basin from SRTM DEM Data: a GIS-based approach

ABSTRACT This study is focused on the morphometric evaluation of some hydrological parameters of the streams/rivers in Chaohu Lake Basin and its influence on land-use changes in the basin. The hydrological parameters considered here include drainage network, linear morphometric, areal, and relief parameters as well as the focal statistics of the stream variables in the Chaohu Lake catchment. Morphometric analyses and assessments of the basin were carried out (in ESRI©ArcGIS 10.6.3) utilizing the remotely sensed georeferenced Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data obtained from Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) while the land-use change analyses (executed in ESRI© ArcGIS) was based on Maximum Likelihood supervised Classification (MLC) of subsets of Landsat MSS and OLI/TIRS images acquired in 1979 and 2015. Linear morphometric results from the analyses include river and stream length (18.22 km), stream order (1–4), mean stream length (0.01 km), bifurcation ratio (2.11–4.34) and mean bifurcation ration (2.15) respectively. The areal morphometric attributes extracted include drainage density (670.85 km2), basin perimeter (789.3 km), basin area (13,350 km2), Circularity ratio (Rc, 0.0059) and relief aspects with the highest value at 1.282 m and the lowest elevation at −7 m. The drainage system here is designated as the fourth-order stream of a majorly dendritic pattern which may be a result of the structural and geomorphological influence on the stream system. In this study, the analyses and understanding of the dynamics of the different streams in the basin are shown to indicate the easy accessibility to the abundant freshwater systems in the basin which has contributed to the changes in land-use patterns over the last five decades in the basin. The notable changes include the increase of agricultural lands from 29.8% in 1979 to 45.2% in 2015; and the built-up (urban) areas from 3.5% in 1979 to 25.1% in 2015, respectively.

Analysis of land use and land cover change of Sidon City, Lebanon

The rapid industrialization and urbanization of an area requires quick preparation of actual land use and land cover (LULC) maps in order to detect and avoid overuse and damage of the landscape beyond sustainable development limits. Remote sensing technology fits well for long-term monitoring and assessment of such effects. The aim of this study is to analyze the expansion of urbanization and LULC changes in Sidon City, Lebanon between 1985 and 2015. The study site is a fast growing region. Therefore, monitoring land changes is an important issue in landscape planning and resource management. In this study, an analysis is carried out for LULC changes in Sidon district via satellite imagery and geographic information systems (GIS). The applied methods consist of two major components: remote sensing-based land classification and GIS-based land change analysis. Seven land cover classes have been detected for evaluating and quantifying the land cover changes for each class within the time frame series from 1985 and 2015. The final results in this study shows the urban expansion and built up areas were clearly detected. Built-up areas took over various unused open areas and in many cases it replaced different agricultural lands. Also results shows the agricultural land changes where some crop types dominates others in some areas and some has been completely transformed to built-up areas. The result from this research indicates that the civil war and conflict with neigbhouring countries brings decline in agricultural areas, impacting the economic aspect of agro trading and destruction of property and development. Yet, after the conflicts ended, Saidon saw significant increase in urbanisation and development activities at local scale. Keywords: GIS, land-use, land-cover, remote sensing, Sidon, urban expansion

Environmental Analysis of Land Use and Land Change of Najran City: GIS and Remote Sensing

This study critically analyzes changes in land use and land cover by means of multi-temporal remote sensing of Najran City in Saudi Arabia between 1975 and 2019. A number of remotely sensed data were employed to create multi-maps using: (a) the normalized difference vegetation index; (b) head-up digitizing; and (c) supervised classification of Landsat images using field observation and accuracy assessment, including field verification and Google Earth Professional. Criteria from a well-known technique of environmental assessment, the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), were used to critically analyze land use and evaluate levels of sustainability, with particular focus on ecology. Therefore, land around Najran can be characterized as follows: (1) Najran valley; (2) agricultural land; (3) built-up areas; (4) reclaimed land; (5) basement rock; and (6) desert. The results indicate that agricultural land grew from an average of 39.81 km2 (1.07%) in 1975 to 218.51 km2 (5.9%) in 2005, although this was followed by a marked decline between 2005 and 2019. Urban land increased from 1.12 km2 (0.031%) in 1975 to 154.35 km2 (4.13%) in 2019. Furthermore, there was approximately 1289.47 km2 of reclaimed land in 1975 (i.e., 34.64% of the total area study area) but approximately 1151.1 km2 (30.86%) in 2019. There was a small amount of desert (i.e., sand dunes) in the study area, and no change was recorded in the basement rock. This study analyzed these land changes, likening them to BREEAM criteria of ecology and land use. A number of unsustainable practices were potentially resulting in serious land contamination and pollution of both surface and ground water, as well as an increased risk of flooding.