Investigation and Quantification of Variations of Landscape Measures using Remote Sensing and Biodiversity Indices (Case Study: Dez Protected Area)

Nowadays the continuous irrational use of land has led to increase transformation, variation of land use and vegetation. Examining and quantifying these variations can be necessary for planning and sustainable management of land. Thus, in the present study, landscape measures were used as quantifying tools for investigation of land condition and variation. Here, patch spatial distribution and composition measures were used. The case study was Dez protected area, which is located in the Iranian Khuzestan Province. In order to prepare land cover and variation analysis maps, the satellite images of Landsat 7 from the TM sensor and Landsat 8 related to ETM+ sensor images were used respectively. Number of Patches (NP), Patch Density (PD), largest patch index, landscape shape, and total edge (TE) metrics, and diversity indices of Shannon and Simpsons were used. The class-level landscape patterns were analyzed using Fragstats 4.2 and Envi. The results show that the extent of vegetated land of the region has decreased, whereas the scope of land with no vegetation is on the rise. The decrease of vegetation and increase of bare soil indicate the destruction of the region's natural cover during the studied years. The decrease of NP and PD measures and increase of edge density shows the increasing destruction of natural land cover of the region, and its increasing common border with other peripheral areas that have different land use.