Assessment of land degradation using Landsat satellite data in the period 2011-2021 (Case Study: Isfahan city)
Subject Areas : Agriculture, rangeland, watershed and forestryHadi Eskandari Damneh 1 , Hamed Eskandari Damaneh 2 , Hassan Khosravi 3 , Meysam Cheraghi 4 , Mohsen Adeli Sardooei 5
1 - PhD. of Combating Desertification, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Hormozgan, Hormozgan, Iran
2 - PhD. of Combating Desertification, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
3 - Associate Professor, Department of Arid and Mountainous Regions Reclamation, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
4 - PhD. Student of Soil Science and Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
5 - Assistant Professor, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Jiroft, Jiroft, Iran
Keywords: Climate Change, Desertification, Soil salinity, degradation process,
Abstract :
Background and Objective Land degradation is one of the destructive phenomena that threaten the stability and security of ecosystems, especially in arid areas. Land degradation can lead to reduced soil fertility and productivity, population migration and displacement, food insecurity, and ecosystem destruction. Despite widespread efforts to combat land degradation, this problem has not only not diminished in recent decades but has gradually intensified. Therefore, monitoring land degradation and revealing its characteristics is essential for land management and recovery, and this monitoring in arid areas facilitates proper management and control of this phenomenon. Monitoring of land degradation in these areas is possible using remote sensing data so that this science will be widely used to monitor land degradation in areas. Considering the importance of land degradation and the need for land monitoring, this study was performed to understandthe degradation situation in Isfahan city properly. Also, this study tries to create appropriate and timely management for the spread of degradation using modeling of environmental indicators obtained from satellite data in the period 2011-2021.Materials and Methods In this study, Landsat satellite imagery, TM, and OLI sensors were used to study the trend of land-use change. In addition, the data from field visits were also used as ancillary information. Satellite images were processed and analyzed in ENVI software environment. The supervised maximum classification method was used to prepare a map of land-use changes. Then, all land uses in the study area were divided into agricultural lands, rangelands, barren and saline lands, and urban and man-made areas. Finally, the obtained layers were transferred to ArcGIS software to calculate the land use area and prepare a suitable output map. After investigating land-use changes, SI soil salinity indices and Albedo climatic index, NDVI, and the LSM vegetation index were designed using the maximum likelihood method. SI soil salinity index is one of the main indicators of land degradation assessment. This index extracted from satellite images can assess soil salinity in arid and semi-arid regions, calculated using Equation SI=√(ρ_Blue×ρ_Red ) (ρBlue and ρRed, are the red and blue bands on the TM and OLI sensors, respectively). The surface albedo index obtained from remote sensing data is a physical parameter that expresses the sun's surface reflection characteristics and short wavelengths. This physical parameter is affected by vegetation, soil moisture, and other surface conditions. Therefore, by studying the changes in Albedo, it is possible to look at the changes in the ground surface and the result of land degradation. Equation AIbedo = 0.356 ρ_Blue + 0.130ρ_Red +0.373ρ_NIR+0.085ρ_SWIR1+0.072ρ_SWIR2-0.018 (The ρ band corresponds to the Landsat TM and OLI sensor images) was used to calculate the surface albedo in TM and OLI sensors in this study. The NDVI index, which is obtained from Landsat satellite images, TM and OLI sensors, was used to study the vegetation in this study. This index is most sensitive to changes in vegetation and is less susceptible to the effects of climate and soil, except in cases where vegetation is low. Another important parameter for land degradation is soil moisture content, which was studied using changes in the LSM index. Finally, the primary component analysis (PCA) method between Albedo, SI, NDVI, and LSM indices was used to estimate land degradation (LD) in 2011, 2016, and 2021. First, the desired indicators were normalized, and then the amount of land degradation for each year was estimated. So that large amounts of land degradation indicate the maximum land degradation.Results and Discussion The trend of land-use changes in Isfahan city in four uses of agricultural lands, rangelands, barren and saline lands, and urban and man-made areas in the period of 2011-2021 showed that between 2011-2016, agricultural lands and rangelands have decreased by 5.7 and 5.06, respectively. In contrast, barren and saline lands and urban and man-made areas increased by 10.45% and 1.51%, respectively. On the other hand, from 2016 to 2021, agricultural lands and rangelands have decreased by 0.75 and 1.25 percent, respectively, and barren and salty lands, urban and man-made areas have increased by 1.51 and 0.5 percent, respectively. Also, from 2011 to 2021, agricultural lands and rangelands decreased by 6.45 and 6.32 percent, respectively, and land use of barren and salty lands, urban and man-made areas increased by 11.96 and 0.8 percent, respectively. The study of the trend of land use changes showed that in this period of 10 years, the trend of destruction of agricultural lands and rangelands was decreasing, and barren and saline land and urban and man-made areas were increasing. The changes in desertification classes showed that the medium, high, and very high desertification classes have increased. The area of desert lands rose from 3428, 2817, and 1340 in 2011 to 4079, 4276, and 4302 Km2 in 1400, respectively. Low and very low classes have changed from 2826 and 5295 in 2011 to 574 and 2475 Km2 in 2021. These changes indicate an increase in desertification in Isfahan, which is due to land-use changes, especially the conversion of rangelands into agricultural lands and frequent droughts and drying of the Zayanderud River, which abandoned agricultural lands and turned them into barren and salty lands. On the other hand, with the dryness of the air, frequent droughts, and drying of the Zayanderud River, the soil moisture has decreased, which has caused salinization of the soil and increased unusable quality lands of this city. Also downstream of the Zayanderud River is Gavkhoni Wetland, one of the most important wetlands in Iran. Due to the reduction of incoming water, the surrounding beds have become barren and saline lands, which indicates the increasing desertification of this wetland.Conclusion It can be concluded that by using the indicators estimated from remote sensing images, it is possible to monitor the destruction and desertification process with reasonable accuracy and put the necessary measures to deal with this destructive phenomenon on the agenda. In this study, the process of land degradation in Isfahan city was estimated over time, based on which the necessary programs and policies can be applied to deal with this phenomenon.
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Ahmadaali K, Eskandari Damaneh H, Ababaei B, Eskandari Damaneh H. 2021. Impacts of droughts on rainfall use efficiency in different climatic zones and land uses in Iran. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 14: 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-020-06389-1.
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Cheng W, Xi H, Sindikubwabo C, Si J, Zhao C, Yu T, Li A, Wu T. 2020. Ecosystem health assessment of desert nature reserve with entropy weight and fuzzy mathematics methods: A case study of Badain Jaran Desert. Ecological Indicators, 119: 106843. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106843.
Damaneh HE, Gh Z, Salajeghe A, Ghorbani M, Khosravi H. 2018. Assessing the effect of land use changes on groundwater quality and quantity (Case study: west basin of Jazmoryan wetland). Journal of Range and Watershed Management, 71(3): 563-578. (In Persian).
Eskandari Damaneh H, Eskandari Damaneh H, Khosravi H, Gholami H. 2019. Analysis and monitoring of drought using NDVI index (Case study: the west basin of Jaz Murian wetland). Rangeland, 13(3): 461-475. http://rangelandsrm.ir/article-1-785-en.html. (In Persian).
Eskandari Damaneh H, Jafari M, Eskandari Damaneh H, Behnia M, Khoorani A, Tiefenbacher JP. 2021. Testing possible scenario-based responses of vegetation under expected climatic changes in Khuzestan Province. Air, Soil and Water Research, 14: 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1177/11786221211013332.
Eskandari Damaneh H, Jafari R, Soltani S. 2018. Assessment of land degradation indices obtained from remote sensing data. Desert Management, 5(10): 43-56. (In Persian).
Eskandari Damaneh H, Zehtabian G, Khosravi H, Azarnivan H, Barati A. 2020. Investigation of vegetation changes trend affected by drought in arid and semi-arid regions using remote sensing technique (Case study: Hormozgan province). Desert Ecosystem Engineering Journal, 9(28): 25-34. (In Persian).
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Jafari R, Hasheminasab S. 2017. Assessing the effects of dam building on land degradation in central Iran with Landsat LST and LULC time series. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 189: 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-017-5792-y.
Jiang L, Bao A, Jiapaer G, Guo H, Zheng G, Gafforov K, Kurban A, De Maeyer P. 2019. Monitoring land sensitivity to desertification in Central Asia: Convergence or divergence? Science of the Total Environment, 658: 669-683. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.12.152.
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Khosroshahi M, Ebrahimi Khusfi Z, Gohardoust A, Lotfi Nasab Asl S, Dargahian F, Zenouzi L. 2020. Monitoring the physical surface changes of the Gavkhoni Wetland and its relation with dust and its surrounding sand dunes activity. Desert Management, 8(15): 139-160. https://doi.org/10.22034/jdmal.2020.44935. (In Persian).
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Liang S, Shuey CJ, Russ AL, Fang H, Chen M, Walthall CL, Daughtry CS, Hunt Jr R. 2003. Narrowband to broadband conversions of land surface albedo: II. Validation. Remote Sensing of Environment, 84(1): 25-41. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0034-4257(02)00068-8.
Luo L, Ma W, Zhuang Y, Zhang Y, Yi S, Xu J, Long Y, Ma D, Zhang Z. 2018. The impacts of climate change and human activities on alpine vegetation and permafrost in the Qinghai-Tibet Engineering Corridor. Ecological Indicators, 93: 24-35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.04.067.
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Shan W, Jin X, Ren J, Wang Y, Xu Z, Fan Y, Gu Z, Hong C, Lin J, Zhou Y. 2019. Ecological environment quality assessment based on remote sensing data for land consolidation. Journal of Cleaner Production, 239: 118126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118126.
Sommer S, Zucca C, Grainger A, Cherlet M, Zougmore R, Sokona Y, Hill J, Della Peruta R, Roehrig J, Wang G. 2011. Application of indicator systems for monitoring and assessment of desertification from national to global scales. Land Degradation & Development, 22(2): 184-197. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.1084.
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Yang C, Li Q, Chen J, Wang J, Shi T, Hu Z, Ding K, Wang G, Wu G. 2020. Spatiotemporal characteristics of land degradation in the Fuxian Lake Basin, China: Past and future. Land Degradation & Development, 31(16): 2446-2460. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.3622.
Yu T, Jiapaer G, Bao A, Zheng G, Jiang L, Yuan Y, Huang X. 2021. Using synthetic remote sensing indicators to monitor the land degradation in a salinized area. Remote Sensing, 13(15): 2851. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13152851.
Zhang F, Yushanjiang A, Jing Y. 2019. Assessing and predicting changes of the ecosystem service values based on land use/cover change in Ebinur Lake Wetland National Nature Reserve, Xinjiang, China. Science of the Total Environment, 656: 1133-1144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.444.
Zhao Y, Wang X, Novillo CJ, Arrogante‐Funes P, Vázquez‐Jiménez R, Berdugo M, Maestre FT. 2019. Remotely sensed albedo allows the identification of two ecosystem states along aridity gradients in Africa. Land Degradation & Development, 30(12): 1502-1515. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.3338.
_||_AbdelRahman MA, Natarajan A, Hegde R. 2016. Assessment of land suitability and capability by integrating remote sensing and GIS for agriculture in Chamarajanagar district, Karnataka, India. The Egyptian Journal of Remote Sensing and Space Science, 19(1): 125-141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrs.2016.02.001.
Ahmadaali K, Eskandari Damaneh H, Ababaei B, Eskandari Damaneh H. 2021. Impacts of droughts on rainfall use efficiency in different climatic zones and land uses in Iran. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 14: 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-020-06389-1.
Asghari Sarasekanrood S, Asadi B. 2021. Analysis of land use changes and their effects on the creation of thermal islands in Isfahan City. The Journal of Geographical Research on Desert Areas, 8(2): 217-246. http://dorl.net/dor/20.1001.1.2345332.1399.8.2.9.6. (In Persian).
Bai ZG, Dent DL, Olsson L, Schaepman ME. 2008. Proxy global assessment of land degradation. Soil Use and Management, 24(3): 223-234. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-2743.2008.00169.x.
Cheng W, Xi H, Sindikubwabo C, Si J, Zhao C, Yu T, Li A, Wu T. 2020. Ecosystem health assessment of desert nature reserve with entropy weight and fuzzy mathematics methods: A case study of Badain Jaran Desert. Ecological Indicators, 119: 106843. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106843.
Damaneh HE, Gh Z, Salajeghe A, Ghorbani M, Khosravi H. 2018. Assessing the effect of land use changes on groundwater quality and quantity (Case study: west basin of Jazmoryan wetland). Journal of Range and Watershed Management, 71(3): 563-578. (In Persian).
Eskandari Damaneh H, Eskandari Damaneh H, Khosravi H, Gholami H. 2019. Analysis and monitoring of drought using NDVI index (Case study: the west basin of Jaz Murian wetland). Rangeland, 13(3): 461-475. http://rangelandsrm.ir/article-1-785-en.html. (In Persian).
Eskandari Damaneh H, Jafari M, Eskandari Damaneh H, Behnia M, Khoorani A, Tiefenbacher JP. 2021. Testing possible scenario-based responses of vegetation under expected climatic changes in Khuzestan Province. Air, Soil and Water Research, 14: 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1177/11786221211013332.
Eskandari Damaneh H, Jafari R, Soltani S. 2018. Assessment of land degradation indices obtained from remote sensing data. Desert Management, 5(10): 43-56. (In Persian).
Eskandari Damaneh H, Zehtabian G, Khosravi H, Azarnivan H, Barati A. 2020. Investigation of vegetation changes trend affected by drought in arid and semi-arid regions using remote sensing technique (Case study: Hormozgan province). Desert Ecosystem Engineering Journal, 9(28): 25-34. (In Persian).
Foster RH. 2006. Methods for assessing land degradation in Botswana. Earth and Environment, 1: 238-276.
Gisladottir G, Stocking M. 2005. Land degradation control and its global environmental benefits. Land degradation & development, 16(2): 99-112. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.687.
Jafari R, Hasheminasab S. 2017. Assessing the effects of dam building on land degradation in central Iran with Landsat LST and LULC time series. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 189: 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-017-5792-y.
Jiang L, Bao A, Jiapaer G, Guo H, Zheng G, Gafforov K, Kurban A, De Maeyer P. 2019. Monitoring land sensitivity to desertification in Central Asia: Convergence or divergence? Science of the Total Environment, 658: 669-683. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.12.152.
Khan NM, Sato Y. 2001. Environmental land degradation assessment in semi-arid Indus basin area using IRS-1B LISS-II data. In: IGARSS 2001. Scanning the Present and Resolving the Future. Proceedings. IEEE 2001 International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (Cat. No. 01CH37217). IEEE, pp 2100-2102. https://doi.org/2110.1109/IGARSS.2001.977916.
Khedri Gharibvand L, Ghahrudi Tali M, Sabokkhiz F, Sepehr A. 2018. Investigation of evolution in Gavkhouni wetland muddy zones by using fractal model. Geography and Environmental Planning, 29(2): 113-128. https://doi.org/10.22108/GEP.2018.98241.0. (In Persian).
Khosroshahi M, Ebrahimi Khusfi Z, Gohardoust A, Lotfi Nasab Asl S, Dargahian F, Zenouzi L. 2020. Monitoring the physical surface changes of the Gavkhoni Wetland and its relation with dust and its surrounding sand dunes activity. Desert Management, 8(15): 139-160. https://doi.org/10.22034/jdmal.2020.44935. (In Persian).
Kouchoukos N, Smith R, Gleason A, Thenkabail P, Hole F, Barkoudah Y, Albert J, Gluhosky P, Foster J. 1997. Monitoring the distribution, use, and regeneration of natural resources in semi-arid Southwest Asia. Proceedings of the Transformations of Middle Eastern Natural Environments: Legacies and Lessons, Oct: 467-491.
Liang S, Shuey CJ, Russ AL, Fang H, Chen M, Walthall CL, Daughtry CS, Hunt Jr R. 2003. Narrowband to broadband conversions of land surface albedo: II. Validation. Remote Sensing of Environment, 84(1): 25-41. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0034-4257(02)00068-8.
Luo L, Ma W, Zhuang Y, Zhang Y, Yi S, Xu J, Long Y, Ma D, Zhang Z. 2018. The impacts of climate change and human activities on alpine vegetation and permafrost in the Qinghai-Tibet Engineering Corridor. Ecological Indicators, 93: 24-35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.04.067.
Mariano DA, dos Santos CA, Wardlow BD, Anderson MC, Schiltmeyer AV, Tadesse T, Svoboda MD. 2018. Use of remote sensing indicators to assess effects of drought and human-induced land degradation on ecosystem health in Northeastern Brazil. Remote Sensing of Environment, 213: 129-143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2018.04.048.
Shan W, Jin X, Ren J, Wang Y, Xu Z, Fan Y, Gu Z, Hong C, Lin J, Zhou Y. 2019. Ecological environment quality assessment based on remote sensing data for land consolidation. Journal of Cleaner Production, 239: 118126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118126.
Sommer S, Zucca C, Grainger A, Cherlet M, Zougmore R, Sokona Y, Hill J, Della Peruta R, Roehrig J, Wang G. 2011. Application of indicator systems for monitoring and assessment of desertification from national to global scales. Land Degradation & Development, 22(2): 184-197. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.1084.
Symeonakis E, Karathanasis N, Koukoulas S, Panagopoulos G. 2016. Monitoring sensitivity to land degradation and desertification with the environmentally sensitive area index: The case of lesvos island. Land Degradation & Development, 27(6): 1562-1573. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2285.
Yang C, Li Q, Chen J, Wang J, Shi T, Hu Z, Ding K, Wang G, Wu G. 2020. Spatiotemporal characteristics of land degradation in the Fuxian Lake Basin, China: Past and future. Land Degradation & Development, 31(16): 2446-2460. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.3622.
Yu T, Jiapaer G, Bao A, Zheng G, Jiang L, Yuan Y, Huang X. 2021. Using synthetic remote sensing indicators to monitor the land degradation in a salinized area. Remote Sensing, 13(15): 2851. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13152851.
Zhang F, Yushanjiang A, Jing Y. 2019. Assessing and predicting changes of the ecosystem service values based on land use/cover change in Ebinur Lake Wetland National Nature Reserve, Xinjiang, China. Science of the Total Environment, 656: 1133-1144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.444.
Zhao Y, Wang X, Novillo CJ, Arrogante‐Funes P, Vázquez‐Jiménez R, Berdugo M, Maestre FT. 2019. Remotely sensed albedo allows the identification of two ecosystem states along aridity gradients in Africa. Land Degradation & Development, 30(12): 1502-1515. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.3338.