Remote Sensing and GIS for Land Use/Land Cover Change Detection in Dakhla Oasis

Accurate change detection of land use provides the decision makers the base for more understanding of the effect of human and nature interactions and relationships. Three multispectral satellite images were used for tracking the land use land cover change in Dakhla Oasis in the Western Desert (Egypt). These images were Landsat TM (1988), Landsat TM (2003), and Sentinel 2 (2018). Change detection study was applied in two periods, the first period from 1988 to 2003, while the second period from 2003 to 2018. Study area was classified into five classes; built-up area, agricultural area, water bodies, sand dunes, and barren land. A significant increase was recorded in the total areas of agricultural land and built-up areas, while the water bodies slightly increased in the period concerned. The built-up land slightly decreased from the first period to the second period from 89 ha/year to 81 ha/year respectively. While the agricultural land annual rate highly increased from 913.9 ha/year in the first period to 1,648.9 ha/year in the second period.