Detecting and Assessing Desertification using LandscapeMetrics in GIS Environment (Case Study: Ain-e-khoshRegion, Iran)

In iran, desertification and landscape fragmentation are occurring as aresult of demographic pressure, agricultural expansion, government policiesand environmental factors such as drought. in this study, land use/cover andlandscape change dynamics were investigated using satellite remote sensing(rs) and geographical information system (gis). landscape metrics werederived from land use/cover maps of the years 1977 and 2007 to indicatedesertification in the study area, ain-e-khosh region, iran. using ain-e-khoshregion as a case, this study aims to test landscape metrics capability inindicating desertification and analyzing temporal fragmentation changes. thetemporal change analysis of fragmentation provides detailed characterizationof desertification processes. poor rangeland and barren land areas havebecome more fragmented and are characterized by the proliferation of muchsmaller and less connected patches. results show a decrease in poorrangeland with an increase of agricultural land and sand plate areas. thissuggests that anthropogenic activities driven by agricultural expansion areamong the main causes of landscape fragmentation, leading to landscapedegradation in the study area. this study demonstrates effectiveness of thers and the gis in detecting, assessing, mapping, monitoring and generatingessential quantitative information on desertification.