Temporal land use change and its economic values under competing driving forces in a diverse land use configuration

• Published in: Arabian journal of geosciences 2022, Vol.15 (20), Article 1597
• Main Authors: Talebi Khiavi, Hossein, Mostafazadeh, Raoof, Asaadi, Mohammad Ali, Asbaghian Namini, Seyyede Khamsa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural economics; Agricultural land; Agricultural production; Agriculture; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth science; Earth Sciences; Economic analysis; Economic impact; Land development; Land management; Land use; Land use management; Landsat; Landsat satellites; Orchards; Original Paper; Outcrops; Rangelands; Remote sensing; Satellite imagery; Sustainable development; Water bodies
• ISSN: 1866-7511; 1866-7538
• DOI: 10.1007/s12517-022-10890-0

Investigating the rate and the process of land use change and its economic effects during the last years is among the main bases of land management in the future. East Meshgin region in Ardabil province is one of the agricultural production centers, where the construction of the Sabalan dam developed the agricultural activities. In this research, the six land uses, including rangeland, orchard, agriculture, bare land, outcrop, and water bodies during the 1998–2019 period, were classified using the Landsat imagery. Also, assessing the rate and process of land use change has been quantifies using single and comprehensive dynamic degree. The land use change matrix is developed in three time periods (1998–2003, 2003–2008, and 2013–2019). The economic evaluation of land use has been conducted during this period. The results showed that the highest rate of land use change was converting the rangeland to bare lands. While in the period of 2008–2013, the highest rate of land use change was rangeland conversion to agriculture lands that has caused increased net income by 4,027,258 $. The analysis of satellite images related to assess the overall land use change between 1998 and 2019 also confirms the change of rangeland use to bare lands. Also, the results of the single dynamic land use change degree show that in each period, the most change was related to water body area. Also, a considerable rate land use change was occurred in agricultural land use during the 2013–2019 period, which corresponds with the initial operation years of Sabalan Dam. This study is performed to facilitate policymakers, planners, and other development stakeholders in this sector to adopt the best option for land use management and sustainable land development.