Land use and land cover change detection in the western Nile delta of Egypt using remote sensing data

• Published in: Applied geography (Sevenoaks) 2011-04, Vol.31 (2), p.483-494
• Main Authors: Abd El-Kawy, O.R., Rød, J.K., Ismail, H.A., Suliman, A.S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Barren lands; Change detection; Classification; Farmlands; Land; Land cover; Land use; Post-classification comparison; Visual; Western Nile delta
• ISSN: 0143-6228; 1873-7730
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apgeog.2010.10.012

Continual, historical, and precise information about the land use and land cover (LULC) changes of the Earth’s surface is extremely important for any kind of sustainable development program, in which LULC serves as one of the major input criteria. In this study, a supervised classification was applied to four Landsat images collected over time (1984, 1999, 2005, and 2009) that provided recent and historical LULC conditions for the western Nile delta. The supervised classification results were further improved by employing image enhancement and visual interpretation. Visual interpretation was not only useful in increasing the classification accuracy of the Landsat images, but it was also helpful in identifying areas with the effective use of water for irrigation and areas of private land reclamation. Five LULC categories were identified and mapped. Post-classification comparisons of the classified images indicated that the major change consisted of barren land changing into agricultural land. Approximately 28%, 14%, and 9% of barren land was changed to agricultural land in the periods 1984–1999, 1999–2005, and 2005–2009, respectively. In addition to these LULC changes, evidence of land degradation processes was observed, which were mainly due to human activities, such as the formation of quarries, free water bodies and Sabkhas (a specific type of land cover found on drylands and salt-affected soils). Based on the identified causes of these changes, we made policy recommendations for better management of LULC. ► Provided recent and historical land use/cover (LULC) maps for the western Nile delta of Egypt using the integration of supervised maximum likelihood classification and visual interpretation of remote sensing data. ► Identified the long-term trend of LULC changes through tracking changes from multi-temporal Landsat images using post-classification comparison. ► Determined the causes of the changes through spatial comparison of produced LULC maps. ► Provided policy recommendations regarding appropriate improvements towards a better management of LULC. ► Identified locations facilitating effective use of water irrigation and private land reclamation.