Landscape change assessment of reservation areas using remote sensing and landscape metrics (case study: Jajroud reservation, Iran)

摘要: Understanding and analyzing the dynamics of reservation areas, as one most valuable ecological resources, is great importance for effective management these environments. Monitoring process land-use/land-cover (LULC) transformations in areas knowing their driving forces would contribute to an informed decision making. In this study, integrated application satellite imagery interpretation landscape ecology approach implemented quantify analyze Jajroud area, Iran. The digital images collected by at 1986, 2000, 2010 were classified following ensemble classification method. resultant LULC maps included six categories orchard, healthy rangeland, degraded afforest, water, urban. Landscape metrics-based analysis temporal patterns LULCs indicated that area has been undergoing rapid drastic changes over past 25 years. Based on class metric level, mostly due conversion rangeland orchard urban category. impervious expanded approximately fivefold from 1986 2010. Largest Patch Index metric, dominant land-cover across study time frame was decreased main growth willingness local residents sell lands having financial interests. Because economic development expansion human-constructed elements, experienced a fragmentation during last three decades. demonstrated metrics can be useful easy-to-implement tool environmental impact assessment ongoing urbanization process.