Desertification impact assessment in Egypt using low resolution satellite data and GIS

In this study, desertification processes and their impact on land cover changes in Egypt from 1992 to 2000 were analyzed using low‐resolution satellite data. Two images of NOAA‐AVHRR and SPOT vegetation data acquired in November 1992 and 2000 were used to assess desertification and changes of agricultural lands in Egypt. A supervised classification of the two images was carried out using the Maximum Likelihood technique. Change image was produced using classified images, through a cross‐tabulation Geographic Information Systems (GIS) module, to assess the trend and form of land cover changes.

It was found that agricultural land increased by about 14.3% during the study period, in particular, around the Nile River Delta and around the Northern Lakes of Egypt. The newly cultivated lands were extracted mainly from desert and salt marshes. At the same time, parts of the agricultural lands were turned into degraded land due to desertification and urban expansion.