Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Spatio-temporal patterns and dynamics of sensitivity to sandification, in the Drylands of South Punjab, Pakistan

  • Published:
GeoJournal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

One of the most serious ecological problems affecting drylands worldwide is sandification, due to exacerbation of the desertification process. As sandified land grows larger, the potential for agriculture decreases. Particularly in Pakistan, desertification is also a significant issue, with numerous natural and human-caused contributors. Desertification often occurs in Pakistan's south Punjab's dry lands, and regularly monitoring the area's sandification dynamics can assist in mitigating the problem. The purpose of this study is to determine the sensitivity to the sandification phenomenon in South Punjab drylands (Rajanpur, Rahim Yar Khan, and Bahawalpur) Pakistan. ALOS PALSAR DEM of 12.5 m resolution and Level 2 Landsat 5, 7, and 8 data (1988, 2001, and 2018) were utilized to conduct this research. The sensitivity to sandification was determined using land use land cover (LULC), slope, and aspect as the determining variables. These variables were separately integrated into ArcGIS using the weighted sum approach for the years 1988, 2001, and 2018. The analysis of sensitivity to sandification found that insensitive land expanded by 47 percent between 1988 and 2018, whereas very low sensitive and low sensitive classifications declined by -5.95 percent and -9.23 percent, respectively. The moderately sensitive area to sandification saw the largest percentage change between 1988 and 2018, changing by 1095.52%. The desertified land saw the second-largest percentage change, changing by 521.58%. However, the highly sensitive to sandification class showed the greatest percentage decrease (-53.65%). The most significant factor found to have an impact on the local sandification dynamics was LULC. By continuously monitoring the dynamics of sandification, the region's desertification intensity can be reduced. A Decision Support System (DSS) can be developed for this purpose through further study. Policymakers can use the DSS findings to assist them in creating strategies for reducing desertification in this region.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abdel Rahman, M. A. E., Shalaby, A., Aboelsoud, M. H., & Moghanm, F. S. (2017). GIS spatial model based for determining actual land degradation status in Kafr El-Sheikh governorate North Nile. Modeling Earth Systems and Environment, 4(1), 359–372.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Abdel Rahman, M. A. E., & Arafat, S. M. (2020). An approach of agricultural courses for soil conservation based on crop soil suitability using Geomatics. Earth Systems and Environment, 4, 273–285. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41748-020-00145-x

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Abdel Rahman, M. A. E., Afifi, A. A., D’Antonio, P., Gabr, S. S., & Scopa, A. (2022a). Detecting and mapping salt-affected soil with arid integrated indices in feature space using multi-temporal Landsat imagery. Remote Sensing, 14, 2599.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Abdel Rahman, M. A. E., Afifi, A. A., & Scopa, A. (2022b). A time series investigation to assess climate change and anthropogenic impacts on quantitative land degradation in the North Delta, Egypt. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 11, 30.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Abdel Rahman, M. A. E. (2023). An overview of land degradation, desertification and sustainable land management using GIS and remote sensing applications. Rendiconti Lincei. Scienze Fisiche e Naturali, 1–42.

  • Ali, R. R. (2012). The impact of land degradation on soil productivity in irrigated agriculture: A case study from El Sharkia Governorate Egypt Australian. J Basic Appl Sci, 6(12), 453–463.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ali, R. R., Abd El-Kader, A. A., Essa, E. F., & Abdel Rahman, M. A. E. (2019). Application of remote sensing to determine spatial changes in soil properties and wheat productivity under salinity stress. Plant Archives, 19, 1616–1621.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amin, A. A. (2004). The extent of desertification on Saudi Arabia. Environmental Geology, 46(1), 22–31. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-004-1009-0

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Anjum, S. A., Wang, L. C., Xue, L., Saleem, M. F., Wang, G. X., & Zou, C. M. (2010). Desertification in Pakistan: Causes, impacts and management. Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment, 8(2), 1203–1208.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashraf, M., & Routray, J. K. (2013). Perception and understanding of drought and coping strategies of farming households in North-West Balochistan. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 5, 49–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2013.05.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bates, B., Kundzewicz, Z., Wu, S., and Palutikof, J. (2008). Climate change and water. Technical paper of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Secretariat. Retrieved from https://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/technical-papers/climate-change-water-en.pdf.

  • Becerril-Piña, R., Díaz-Delgado, C., Mastachi-Loza, C. A., & González-Sosa, E. (2016). Integration of remote sensing techniques for monitoring desertification in Mexico. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal, 22(6), 1323–1340. https://doi.org/10.1080/10807039.2016.1169914

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bhalli, M. N., & Ghaffar, A. (2015). Use of geospatial techniques in monitoring urban expansion and land use change analysis: A case of Lahore, Pakistan. Journal of Basic & Applied Sciences, 11, 265–273.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhalli, M. N., Ghaffar, A., Shirazi, S. A., & Parveen, N. (2013). Use of multi-temporal digital data to monitor LULC changes in Faisalabad-Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Science, 65(1), 58–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhalli, M. N., Ghaffar, A., Shirazi, S. A., Parveen, N., & Anwar, M. M. (2012a). Change detection analysis of landuse by using geospatial techniques: a case study of Faisalabad- Pakistan. Science International, 24(4), 539–546.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhalli, M. N., Ghaffar, A., & Shirazi, S. A. (2012b). Spatio-temporal patterns of urban growth in Faisalabad-Pakistan: A GIS perspective. Journal of Research Society of Pakistan, 49(1), 115–134.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, A., Yang, X., Xu, B., Jin, Y., Guo, J., Xing, X., & Zhu, L. (2021). Monitoring the spatiotemporal dynamics of aeolian desertification using Google Earth engine. Remote Sensing, 13(9), 1730.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • EU, (2018). New World Atlas of Desertification shows unprecedented pressure on the planet's resources (2018, June 21). Retrieved 1 November 2023 from https://phys.org/news/2018-06-worldatlasdesertification-unprecedented-pressure.html

  • El-Rawy, M., Mohamed, A. E., & Ismail, E. (2020). Integrated use of pollution indices and geomatics to assess soil contamination and identify soil pollution source in El-Minia Governorate, Upper Egypt. Journal of Engineering Science and Technology, 15(4), 2223–2238.

    Google Scholar 

  • GOP. (2017). Salient features of final results, Census-2017. Retrieved from https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files//population_census/sailent_feature_%20census_2017.pdf

  • Guan, Y., He, B., Li, X., Yin, C., and Qiu, S. (2017). Desertification assessment and trend analysis using MODIS data. In 2017 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS) (pp. 5739–5742). IEEE.

  • Hong, J. (1999). The Ordos Plateau of China: an endangered environment. United Nations University Press.

  • Hossini, H., Karimi, H., Mustafa, Y. T., Al-Quraishi, A. M. F. (2022). Role of effective factors on soil erosion and land degradation: a review. In: Al-Quraishi AMF, Mustafa, Y. T., Negm, A. M. (Eds.), Environmental Degradation in Asia. Earth and Environmental Sciences Library. Springer.

  • Iftikhar, S., & Mahmood, H. Z. (2017). Spatial distribution of agricultural resources and food security: A case of Punjab Pakistan. Cogent Food & Agriculture, 3(1), 1357265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Janečkova, M. K., Sklenička, P., Bohnet, I. C., Lowther-Harris, F., van den Brink, A., MovahhedMoghaddam, S., Fanta, V., Zastěra, V., & Azadi, H. (2023). Impacts of land consolidation on land degradation: A systematic review. Journal of Environmental Management, 329, 117026.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Javed, A., Jamal, S., & Khandey, M. (2012). Climate change induced land degradation and socio-economic deterioration: A remote sensing and GIS based case study from Rajasthan, India. Journal of Geographic Information System, 4(3), 219–219.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Joseph, O., Gbenga, A. E., & Langyit, D. G. (2018). Desertification risk analysis and assessment in Northern Nigeria. Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment, 11, 70–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kamali, B., Yang, H., & Abbaspour, K. (2017). Multilevel drought Hazard assessment under climate change scenarios in semi-arid regions-a case study of the Karkheh River basin in Iran. Water, 9(4), 241.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kanwal, S., Atif, S., & Shafiq, M. (2017). GIS based landslide susceptibility mapping of northern areas of Pakistan, a case study of Shigar and Shyok Basins. Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk, 8(2), 348–366.

  • Kiem, A. S., & Austin, E. K. (2013). Drought and the future of rural communities: Opportunities and challenges for climate change adaptation in regional Victoria. Australia. Global Environmental Change, 23(5), 1307–1316. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2013.06.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khan, A. N., & Ali, A. (2015). Desertification risk reduction approaches in pakistan disaster risk reduction approaches in Pakistan (pp. 161–173). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-55369-4_9

  • Li, P., Chen, P., Shen, J., Deng, W., Kang, X., Wang, G., & Zhou, S. (2022). Dynamic monitoring of desertification in Ningdong based on Landsat images and machine learning. Sustainability, 14(12), 7470.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mazhar, N. (2020). “An Assessment of desertification vulnerability and community resilience in South Punjab”. [unpublished Doctoral Dissertation]. Institute of Geography, University of the Punjab Lahore, Pakistan.

  • Mazhar, N., & Shirazi, S. A. (2023). Community perceptions of the impacts of desertification as related to adaptive capacity in drylands of South Punjab, Pakistan. Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, 7(2), 549–568.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mazhar, N., & Shirazi, S. A. (2020). The preliminary study of anthropogenic and natural drivers of desertification in drylands of South Punjab, Pakistan. International Journal of Economic and Environmental Geology, 11(1), 102–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mazhar, N., Shirazi, S. A., Stringer, L. C., Carrie, R. H., & Dallimer, M. J. J. o. A. E. (2021). Spatial patterns in the adaptive capacity of dryland agricultural households in South Punjab, Pakistan. Journal of Arid Environments, 194, 104610.

  • Mahmoudi, P., Kalim, D., & Amirmoradi, M. R. (2011). Investigation of Iran's Vulnerability Trend to Desertification with the approach of climate change. In Second International Conference on Environmental Science and Development (Vol. 4, pp. 63–67). IPCBEE; IACSIT Press.

  • Malik, S., Awan, H., & Khan, N. (2012). Mapping vulnerability to climate change and its repercussions on human health in Pakistan. Globalization and Health, 8(1), 1–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meshesha, T. W., Tripathi, S., & Khare, D. (2016). Analyses of land use and land cover change dynamics using GIS and remote sensing during 1984 and 2015 in the Beressa Watershed Northern Central Highland of Ethiopia. Modeling Earth Systems and Environment, 2(4), 1–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mostefaoui, M. (2017). Assessment and Analysis of Desertification Trajectories from 1987 to 2015 In Biskra, the Steppe Region of Algeria. Northeastern Illinois University, Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/openview/9e55d7da8e258fc77e60faf3946fed02/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y

  • NDMA. (2017). Integrated Context Analysis on Vulnerability to Food Insecurity and Natural Hazards, Pakistan. Retrieved from Islamabad. Retrieved from http://pdma.gov.pk/sites/default/files/Integrated%20Context%20Analysis%20%28ICA%29%20On%20Vulnerability%20to%20Food%20Insecurity%20and%20Natural%20Hazards%20Pakistan%2C%202017.pdf: http://pdma.gov.pk/sites/default/files/Integrated%20Context%20Analysis%20%28ICA%29%20On%20Vulnerability%20to%20Food%20Insecurity%20and%20Natural%20Hazards%20Pakistan%2C%202017.pdf

  • Nasar-u-Minallah, M., Haase, D., Qureshi, S., Zia, S., & Munnaza, F. (2023). Ecological monitoring of urban thermal field variance index and determining the surface urban heat island effects in Lahore, Pakistan. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 195, 1212. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11799-1

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nasar-u-Minallah, M., Zia S., Rahman A., Riaz O. (2021). Spatio-temporal analysis of urban expansion and future growth patterns of lahore, Pakistan. Geography, Environment, Sustainability, 14(3), 41–53. https://doi.org/10.24057/2071-9388-2020-215

  • Nunez, C. (2019). Desertification, explained. Retrieved 1 November 2023 from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/desertification

  • Savage, M., Dougherty, B., Hamza, M., Butterfield, R., & Bharwani, S. (2009). Socio-economic impacts of climate change in Afghanistan. Stockholm Environment Institute. Retrieved from https://www.weadapt.org/sites/weadapt.org/files/legacy-new/placemarks/files/5345354491559sei-dfid-afghanistan-report-1-.pdf

  • Sahar, J., Nasar-u-Minallah, M., Parveen, N., & Zia, S. (2023). Desertification vulnerability assessment through geospatial techniques in Bahawalpur division of Punjab, Pakistan. GeoJournal, 1–18.

  • Silalahi, F. E. S., Pamela, Arifianti, Y., & Hidayat, F. (2019). Landslide susceptibility assessment using frequency ratio model in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia. Geoscience Letters, 6(1), 10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40562-019-0140-4

  • Sun, W., Hou, R. X., & Tang, X. M. (2014). A land desertification and sandification monitoring and management informatization framework in China: Design, verification, and proposal.

  • Sun, Q., Zhang, P., Jiang, W., Qu, W., Sun, Y., & Sun, D. (2022). Navigating local environment and scientific knowledge in dryland social-ecological systems through linking ecological policy-household interactions with land surface dynamics. Land Use Policy, 112, 105863.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sreenivas, K., Sujatha, G., Mitran, T., Janaki, K. G., Ravisankar, T., & Rao, P. V. N. (2021). Decadal changes in land degradation status of India. Current Science, 121(4), 25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Symeonakis, E., Karathanasis, N., Koukoulas, S., & Panagopoulos, G. (2016). Monitoring sensitivity to land degradation and desertification with the environmentally sensitive area index: The case of Lesvos island. Land Degradation & Development, 27(6), 1562–1573. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2285

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, X., Hua, T., Lang, L., & Ma, W. (2017a). Spatial differences of aeolian desertification responses to climate in arid Asia. Global and Planetary Change, 148, 22–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2016.11.008

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, X., Ma, W., Hua, T., & Li, D. (2017b). Variation in vegetation greenness along China’s land border. Science China Earth Sciences, 60(11), 2025–2032.

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, X., Li, Z., and Gao, Z. (2011). Monitoring sandified land changes using multi-temporal Landsat TM/ETM+ Data in Dengkou County of Inner Mongolia, China. In 2011 4th International congress on image and signal processing (Vol. 3, pp. 1646–1651). IEEE.

  • Wu, J., Gao, Z., Liu, Q., Li, Z., Zhong, B., Sun, B., & Wang, X. (2018). Dynamic Change Monitoring and Assessment for Sandy Land Based on Quantitative Remote Sensing. In IGARSS 2018–2018 IEEE International geoscience and remote sensing symposium (pp. 4958–4961). IEEE.

  • Yu, X., Grace, M., Zou, Y., Yu, X., Lu, X., & Wang, G. J. P. O. (2014). Surface sediments in the marsh-sandy land transitional area: Sandification in the western Songnen Plain, China. PLoS ONE, 9(6), e99715.

    Article  ADS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, C., Wang, X., Li, J., & Hua, T. (2020). Identifying the effect of climate change on desertification in northern China via trend analysis of potential evapotranspiration and precipitation. Ecological Indicators, 112, 106141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106141

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, H., Chen, X., Zhang, Z., & Zhou, Y. (2019). Exploring an efficient sandy barren index for rapid mapping of sandy barren land from Landsat TM/OLI images. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 80, 38–46.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Zia, S. Mohsin, M., Nasar-u-Minallah, M. and Hanif, A. (2022). Site Suitability Analysis for Urban Settlements along River Jhelum, Pakistan using GIS and Remote Sensing Techniques. Indonesian Journal of Geography, 54(2), 223–239. https://doi.org/10.22146/ijg.72354

Download references

Acknowledgements

This is part of the Ph.D. research work of the first author. The USGS is appreciated by the authors for allowing free downloads of the Landsat data. The authors also acknowledge the ongoing assistance and infrastructure provided by their respective organizations. We also appreciate the reviewers' and the editor's insightful remarks and ideas.

Funding

No funding was obtained for this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore, 54000, Pakistan

    Nausheen Mazhar

  2. Institute of Geography, University of the Punjab, Lahore, 54000, Pakistan

    Muhammad Nasar-u-Minallah & Safdar Ali Shirazi

  3. Department of Physical Geography, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Zahedan, 9816745639, Iran

    Peyman Mahmoudi

  4. Department of Remote Sensing and GIS, University of Tehran, Tehran, 19839694, Iran

    Fatemeh Firoozi

Authors
  1. Nausheen Mazhar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Muhammad Nasar-u-Minallah
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Safdar Ali Shirazi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Peyman Mahmoudi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Fatemeh Firoozi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Nausheen Mazhar led the conceptualization, methodology, and data analysis conducted the overall analysis and wrote the manuscript. Safdar Ali Shirazi supervised the research and provide resources, and Muhammad Nasar-u-Minallah provided technical inputs for the research and reviewed the paper. Peyman Mahmoudi reviews and edits the manuscript. Fatemeh Firoozi provide help during the map analysis and also edited and review the article.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Muhammad Nasar-u-Minallah.

Ethics declarations

Declarations

All authors have read, comprehended, and complied with the statement regarding their "Ethical Responsibilities."

Conflicts of interest

The writers say they have no conflicting agendas.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Mazhar, N., Nasar-u-Minallah, M., Shirazi, S.A. et al. Spatio-temporal patterns and dynamics of sensitivity to sandification, in the Drylands of South Punjab, Pakistan. GeoJournal 89, 15 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-024-11014-9

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-024-11014-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation