Assessment of land-cover changes related to shrimp aquaculture using remote sensing data:: a case study in the Giao Thuy District, Vietnam

Shrimp culture is a sector of aquaculture that has a high potential for poverty alleviation and rural development in Vietnam. However, the development of this activity induces changes that potentially have negative impacts on the environment, one of which is wetland deterioration. This paper describes the use of a proposed change detection methodology in the assessment of mangrove forest alterations caused by aquaculture development, as well as the effectiveness of the measures taken to mitigate deforestation in the district of Giao Thuy, Vietnam, between 1986, 1992 and 2001. Geometric and radiometric corrections were applied to Landsat images prior to identifying changes through comparison of unsupervised classifications. Changes were afterwards validated using a thresholding method based on Tasselled Cap feature image differencing and a rule-based feature selection matrix. The matrix is used to identify the feature that is most efficient at detecting the presence of change between given land-cover classes. The proposed approach aims to minimize commission errors in the post-classification change detection process. The results suggest that 63% of mangrove areas apparent in 1986 had been replaced by shrimp ponds in 2001. Between 1986 and 1992, 440 ha of adult mangrove trees had disappeared, whereas the mangrove extent increased by 441 ha between 1992 and 2001. This recovery is attributed to reforestation projects and conservation efforts that promoted natural regeneration.