Monitoring Change of Marshes In South of Iraq by Using Image Processing Techniques for Landsat Images Through Period From 1990 to 2015

Abstract

This study was conducted for the purpose of monitoring changes in the marshes of southern Iraq, depend on image processing techniques for Landsat images for the period from 1990 to 2015.Landsat satellite images such as TM, ETM+, and LDCM for years 1990,2000, and 2015 in addition to set of maps were used, and then all these data were analysed and extracted the information from it by using ERDAS EMAGINE 2014 program also to extract the final maps layout the ARC GIS 10.2 program was used .Two important indices were extracted from satellite images, Transformed Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (TNDVI) and Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) for extract natural vegetation and water in study area. Supervised classification has been used to product three land cover maps for study area. After conducting all necessary analyses, the final results showed that the deterioration has happened largely in the waters of marshes and natural vegetation area in the period from 1990 to 2000 and then this deterioration was beginning decrease gradually and marshes began to recover from 2000 to 2015, there is increase in the surface area of waters of the marshes and natural vegetation in year 2015 than in year 2000, but this increase does not reach to the area of water and natural vegetation in year 1990.