Monitoring land-use change-associated land development using multitemporal Landsat data and geoinformatics in Kom Ombo area, South Egypt

Due to the progressive increase in population, sustainable development of desert land in Egypt has become a strategic priority in order to meet the increasing demands of a growing population for food and housing. Such obligations require efficient compilation of accurate land-cover information in addition to detailed analysis of archival land-use changes over an extended time span. In this study, we applied a methodology for mapping land cover and monitoring change in patterns related to agricultural development and urban expansion in the desert of the Kom Ombo area. We utilized the available records of multitemporal Landsat Thematic Mapper and Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus images to produce three land-use/land-cover maps for 1988, 1999 and 2008. Post-classification change detection analysis shows that agricultural development increased by 39.2% through the study period with an average annual rate of land development of 8.7 km(2) year(-1). We report a total increase in urbanization over the selected time span of approximately 28.0 km(2) with most of this urban growth concentrated to the east of the Nile and occurring through encroachment on the former old cultivated lands. The archival record of the length of irrigation canals showed that their estimated length was 341.5, 461.8 and 580.1 km in the years 1988, 1999 and 2008, respectively, with a 70% increase in canal length from 1988 to 2008. Our results not only accurately quantified the land-cover changes but also delineated their spatial patterns, showing the efficiency of Landsat data in evaluating landscape dynamics over a particular time span. Such information is critical in making effective policies for efficient and sustainable natural resource management.