Monitoring of land use land cover in Al-Rahad agricultural scheme, Sudan using remote sensing and geographic information system

Abstract EN

The research aimed to investigate changes in land use/land cover (LU/LC) in Al-Rahad agricultural scheme (Sudan) with emphasis on agricultural land during the period 1987-2013.

three scenes (172/50) were acquired by Landsat thematic mapper (TM) 1987, Landsat enhanced thematic mapper (ETM+) 2000 and Landsa 8 2013 were digitally classified to determine LU/CL classes.

fieldwork and secondary data were integrated.

post-classification change detection approach was performed.

normalized difference of vegetation index (NDVI) was used to identify the changes in the agricultural land.

the major LU/LC classes were vegetation cover, fallow lands, bare land, water bodies and settlement.

during the period 1987- 2000, decrease was witnessed in areas covered by vegetation cover, bare lands and water bodies while increase was recorded in area covered by fallow land.

on the other hand, during the period 2000 - 2013, decrease was recorded for areas covered by vegetation cover and bare lands, and increase was occurred in areas covered by fallow land and water bodies, while settlement area was witnessed no change.

this research concluded that remarked changes in LU/LC classes during the period (1987-2013) were occurred and deterioration in vegetation cover was the major desertification process as consequence of continuous cultivation.

this study affirms the effectiveness of remote sensing and GIS to detect LU/LC changes and land degradation.

this study recommends adoption of sustainable agricultural management program for better use of Al-Rahad Agricultural Scheme.