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Monitoring land cover changes in Isfahan Province, Iran using Landsat satellite data

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Abstract

Changes in land cover and land use reveal the effects of natural and human processes on the Earth’s surface. These changes are predicted to exert the greatest environmental impacts in the upcoming decades. The purpose of the present study was to monitor land cover changes using Multispectral Scanner Sensor (MSS) and multitemporal Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) data from the counties of Isfahan Province, Iran, during 1975, 1990, and 2010. The maximum likelihood supervised classification method was applied to map land cover. Postclassification change detection technique was also used to produce change images through cross-tabulation. Classification results were improved using ancillary data, visual interpretation, and local knowledge about the area. The overall accuracy of land cover change maps ranged from 88 to 90.6 %. Kappa coefficients associated with the classification were 0.81 for 1975, 0.84 for 1990, and 0.85 for 2010 images. This study monitored changes related to conversion of agricultural land to impervious surfaces, undeveloped land to agricultural land, agricultural land to impervious surfaces, and undeveloped land to impervious surfaces. The analyses of land cover changes during the study period revealed the significant development of impervious surfaces in counties of Isfahan Province as a result of population growth, traffic conditions, and industrialization. The image classification indicated that agricultural lands increased from 2520.96 km2 in 1975 to 4103.85 km2 in 2010. These land cover changes were evaluated in different counties of Isfahan Province.

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Acknowledgments

This article is a part of the multidisciplinary research project “land use planning of Isfahan Province” (code: 2964) funded by Isfahan Provincial Government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Natural Resources, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, 84156-83111, Iran

    Alireza Soffianian & Maliheh Madanian

Authors
  1. Alireza Soffianian
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  2. Maliheh Madanian
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Correspondence to Maliheh Madanian.

Additional information

Alireza Soffianian is an associate professor, Department of Natural Resources, Isfahan University of Technology.

Maliheh Madanian is a Ph.D. student in land use planning, Department of Natural Resources, Isfahan University of Technology.

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Soffianian, A., Madanian, M. Monitoring land cover changes in Isfahan Province, Iran using Landsat satellite data. Environ Monit Assess 187, 543 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-015-4442-5

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