Spatial Analysis of Land Use/Land Cover Changes in Mardan, Pakistan: A Decadal Study Using GIS and Remote Sensing

Abstract

During the past decades, the district of Mardan has experienced remarkable expansion in terms of growth and development activities. The increasing population has resulted in drastic changes in the land use pattern. This study employs GIS and remote sensing methods to monitor the variations in land use and land cover between 2008 and 2018. The primary objective is to identify different land use and land cover classes within the area of interest and analyze the changes that have occurred over the past ten years. Landsat images sourced from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) database were utilized in this study, while vector data was derived from topographical sheets of the study area. ArcGIS was employed for data analysis, including band composition and other image enhancement techniques. The images were classified using supervised maximum likelihood classification, and accuracy assessment was carried out through the use of a confusion matrix. The findings reveal a decrease in vegetation cover from 35% to 24.01% of the total area over the past two decades. Conversely, the built-up area has witnessed an increase from 35% to 60%. Additionally, water coverage has decreased by 8% from 2008 to 2018. Furthermore, barren land has experienced a 17% increase over the ten-year period (2008-2018). In summary, this study provides valuable insights into the changing land use and land cover patterns in the district of Mardan. The results highlight a decline in vegetation cover, an increase in built-up areas, and changes in water coverage and barren land over the specified time frame.