Assessing the Recent Trends of Land Degradation and Desertification in Romania Using Remote Sensing Indicators

Land degradation (LD) and desertification (DS) are a sensitive global issue including southern and south-eastern Europe, which is severely affected by climate change. In this study, a state-of-the-art approach for assessing the intensity of LD and DS processes using remote-sensing-derived indicators within a GIS environment was proposed. The analysis was carried out using the Principal Component Analysis based on integrating the significant trends of relevant biophysical parameters in Romania. The methodology was tested and validated at the national level in Romania. In total, 7.76% of the area was identified as LD and 60.8% of the total area tended to improve, and 31.44% was stable. Most of the regions with LD overlapped with the dryland areas, while improvement areas were identified outside of the drylands. In forested areas from high altitudes, a tendency to improve the condition of vegetation was observed, and most of the surfaces being protected were natural areas that have benefited from proper management. All these results can be used to adapt management practices to avoid, reduce, or restore the LD. The proposed model was based on globally available remote sensing datasets, with a high frequency of data acquisition and collection history that allows for the statistical analyses of changes on a global scale.

Automated summary

This study proposes a method using remote sensing data in a GIS environment to assess the intensity of land degradation and desertification processes. The methodology was tested in Romania and found that 7.76% of the area was identified as land degradation, 60.8% tended to improve, and 31.44% was stable. The study also found that land degradation and improvement areas were mainly located in drylands and natural protected areas.