Assessment and Classification of Desertification Using RS & GIS Techniques (Case Study: the Arid Region, in the North of Isfahan)

Desertification is the ecologic and biologic reduction which may occur naturally or non naturally. Desertification process usually effects arid and semi arid region and reduce the land efficiency very rapidly. This study has been conducted to evaluate and classify desertification with the aim of geographic information system and remote sensing techniques. In this study, TM data of 25 shahriver 1369(16 October 1990) and ETM+ data of 16 shahrivar 1380 (7 October 2001) were used. Geometric, radiometric and sun height angle correction were carried out on the images. Supervised and unsupervised classification were used for both two images and 9 land uses were classified and compare quantitatively due to geomorphology and desertification attributes. Each main and partial desertification factor was input to geographic information database and scaled to make the map of desertification severity based on recommended method for Iran and FAO map of desertification vulnerability. The result of desertification severity which shows desertification condition, velocity and potentiality, showed that natural desertification occurs in 35 % of area with different medium, high and very high desertification severity. Anthropogenic desertification includes 65 % of study area with high and very high condition. But in desertification vulnerability map, very high desertification vulnerability was determined in 20 % of area with simultaneous human and animal effect and high desertification vulnerability was determined on 80 % area with only animal effect. According to the map, for arid region of north of isfahan, it was identified that range land use change to agriculture, improve agricultural patterns, over grazing, incident economic condition and ground water over exploitation are the most important anthropogenic factor, and drought and soil and water salinity are the most important natural factors. Desertification trend is enhancing to north west of the study area which will make trouble for rangelands, residential and industrial areas.