land degradtion pattern using geo-information technology for kot addu, punjab province, pakistan

Abstract

- One of the most important global phenomena that are currently threatening the ecosystem is land degradation and is mainly caused by the climatic changes and human influence. Land degradation is the reduction in the capability of the land to produce benefits from a particular land use under a specified form of land management. Land degradation is the consequence of important processes, which is active in arid and semi-arid ecosystems, where water is the original limiting factor in execution of land application. Remotely sensed data provide timely, accurate and reliable information on degraded lands at definite time intervals in a cost effective manner. In this research, the TM/ETM+ images were used to study changes occurred in the first decade of the new millennium; May 2001 to April 2011. In the present study, efforts have been made to identify and map areas affected by land degradation in Kot Addu tehsil of Muzaffargarh, Punjab province, Pakistan.