assessment of the impact of land use/land cover changes in the hamoun wetland on land surface temperature using satellite imagery

The hamoun wetland, situated in southeastern iran near the afghanistan border, is a sensitive ecological and socio-economic area that has undergone significant land use and environmental changes over recent decades. this study applied the supervised cart classification method to identify land use/land cover (lulc) changes over 40 years  (corresponding to 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020) in the hamoun region. surface temperature data were analyzed regarding land use changes, and the palmer drought severity index (pdsi) was utilized to assess drought trends during this time. the results indicate a significant decline in water bodies, agricultural lands, and reed beds. specifically, the water bodies decreased from 11.25% in 1990 to 2.47% in 2020, agricultural lands from 8.56% to 3.53%, and reed beds from 4.64% to 0.38%. conversely, low-vegetation areas, barren lands, and urban areas expanded, with barren lands increasing by 14.05%. the overall classification accuracy for the lulc maps was approximately 96%, 96%, 95%, and 98% for the respective years, and the kappa coefficients were 0.97, 0.97, 0.96, and 0.98, indicating high classification accuracy. temperature trends declined during the study period, primarily due to severe droughts. the findings highlight a significant relationship between land use changes and surface temperature variations. this research provides valuable insights for policymakers and urban planners, supporting sustainable lulc strategies at the local level.