| Abstrakt: |
In addition to unthinking anthropogenic meddling with the subtle ecological balance, the territories of Al-Aba Oasis are witnessing various Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) changes. Comprehending LULC is a central facet of upholding a sustainable, friendly, and fit environment. This paper presents a spatiotemporal study of land use and land cover trends in the wetlands of Al-Aba Oasis, an ecologically sensitive area in the west of Ras Tanura in the east of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The study area faces several environmental problems, including the rise in groundwater levels, expansion of agricultural land, urban expansion, and anthropogenic interference with the ecological balance. In this paper, a verified representation of the changes in each LULC class has been made using satellite images. Remote sensing imagery is helpful for studying temporal changes in LULC and providing environmental monitoring data. We analysed Landsat-5 and Sentinel-2 imagery for 1985, 2000, and 2021. The overall precision besides the kappa coefficient for precision assessment indicates the relevance of the LULC classification. LULC map products were overlaid and interpreted based on post-classification change detection methods. The LULC aspects were classified into six classes: water body, waterlogged area, sabkha soil, sandy area, cultivated area, and builtup area. The results prove that from 2001 to 2021, the extension of the built-up area (2.6%) and agricultural land (6.85%) is directly proportional to the population growth (36.5% between 1992 and 2004) and the sabkhas are subject to constant metamorphosis under the joint influence of urban and agricultural land expansion. 100 samples were collected for the years 1986, 2001, and 2021 to assess the accuracy. We reviewed the outcomes of this study by evaluating the accuracy (77, 81, and 84% for 1986, 2001, and 2021 respectively) and comparing the field truth using a GPS (Global Positioning System) sensor. The results of this study are useful in the development of environmental policies during the development of sustainable territorial development programmes of the oasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
