Land use/cover change and driving force analyses in parts of northern Iran using RS and GIS techniques

To accomplish integrated watershed management and land use planning, it is necessary to study the dynamic spatial pattern of land use and cover change related to socioeconomical and physical parameters. In this study, land use and cover change detection was applied to the Lajimrood Drainage Basin in northern parts of Iran, an area characterized by rich and diversified agricultural and forest mosaic. The main of changes in the study area were forest–arable land transformation, which was only considered in this study. In order to detect these changes, at first, based on 1:25,000 digital topographic maps dated 1967 and 1994 and ETM+ satellite image dated 2002, land use map in these three dates were prepared. The results showed that the area with forest land use decreased about 3.2% in transition 1967–2002. Also, arable land increased about 36.9%. We suggested a method to analyze the driving forces and the spatial distribution of land use change. The maps of elevation, slope, and aspect were derived and classified by using digital elevation model (DEM). Also, the maps of distance from road, drainage network, and building area were selected as socioeconomical factors. These maps were overlaid and crossed with land use change map and land use change area ratio was computed. The results showed that the elevation, slope, and aspect were physical effective factors in land use changing. Also, by increasing the distance from building area and roads, deforestation rate was reduced.Abstractمن أجل إجراء إدارة متكاملة لأحواض الصرف والتخطيط لاستخدامات الأراضي، إنه من الضروري دراسة النمط المكانى لإستخدامات الأراضى والتغير فى الغطاء الأرضي المصاحب للعوامل الطبيعية والاقتصادية - الاجتماعية. فى هذه الدراسة تم تتبع التغير في استخدامات الأراضي و الغطاء الأرضي لحوض الصرف لاجيمرود فى شمال إيران كمنطقة تتميز بتنوع وغنى فى المساحات المزروعة والغابات . كان التغير الأساسي فى منطقة الدراسة هو تحول الغابات إلى أراضى منزرعة وهو أساس هذه الدراسة . من أجل تتبع هذه التغيرات ثم الاعتماد على خرائط طبوغرافية رقمية مقياس رسم 25000:1 لأعوام 1967 و1994 وصور الأقمار الصناعية (ETM+) لعام 2002 وتم استنتاج خريطة استخدامات الأراضى لهذه الفترات الزمنية الثلاث . دلت النتائج أن مساحة الغابات تتناقص بنسبة 3.2% من عام 1967إلى 2002، أما المناطق المزروعة فزادت بنسبة 36.9%. تم اقتراح طريقة لتحليل القوة المحركة والتوزيع المكاني للتغير فى استخدامات الأراضي . تم استنباط وتقسيم خرائط الارتفاعات والانحدار وميل الواجهة باستخدام نموذج الارتفاعات الرقمي ((DEM . أيضا خرائط المسافات من الطرق وشبكات الصرف ومناطق المياه تم إختبارها بناء على العوامل الإقتصادية – الإجتماعية . وتم عمل تطابق بين هذه الخرائط وخريطة التغير فى استخدامات الأراضى ودلت النتائج على أن عوامل الإرتفاعات والإنحدار وميل الوجهه تمثل عوامل فعالة فى تغيرات استخدامات الأراضي. كذلك مع زيادة المسافة من مناطق البناء والطرق فإن معدل إزالة الغابات يتناقص.

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