Monitor land degradation phenomena through landscape metrics and NDVI: Gördes, Kavacιk, Ilιcak, Kumçay and Marmara Lake Basins (Turkey)

Abstract

Rapid land use/cover change (LULC), land degradation and landscape fragmentation are occurring in Turkey, as a result of demographic pressure, agricultural expansion, government policies and environmental factors such as drought. This study analyzed the dynamics of LULC and land degradation as revealed in landscape fragmentation in the Gördes, Kavacιk, Ilιcak, Kumçay and Marmara Lake basins based on Landsat data for 1975 and 2000. A hybrid supervised/ unsupervised classification approach coupled with GIS analyses was employed to generate LULC maps. Various class-level Landscape Pattern Metrics (LPMs) were calculated using FRAGSTATS, in order to analyze landscape fragmentation. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) has been prepared from the satellite data to understand the vigour and density of vegetation. The results indicated that the study area had a decrease in NDVI values, which meant a decrease in the vegetation cover, land degradation and the soil moisture during the study period. Consequently, the landscape became more highly fragmented. This suggests that anthropogenic activities driven by agricultural expansion were the main causes of landscape fragmentation, leading to landscape degradation in the study area. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of the Remote Sensing (RS) and the Geographical Information System (GIS) in detection, assessing, mapping, monitoring and generating essential quantitative information on the land degradation.