A New Model of Ecological Carrying Capacity for Developing Ecotourism in the Protected Area of the North Karkheh, Iran Abstract The carrying capacity is one of the most important tools used in planning natural areas for the sustainable development of ecotourism. For this purpose, the first step was to identify the effective factors in determining the ecological potentials and pressures affecting the ECC of ecotourism in the area. The network model between the effective factors was developed, and then, using the ANP model, PSR conceptual model, the region potentials and ECC were determined for the establishment of ecotourism in a scale of 1:50,000. In this research, the relative importance of effective factors in determining the region ecological potentials and pressures affecting the CC of the region was determined using a questionnaire and Delphi method. A total of 70 questionnaires were completed by qualified experts. Then, the physical CC and the ecological pressure levels of the area were calculated and the final map of the ECC was presented for the development of the ecotourism using WLC technique and the Builder model. The results of this study showed that 20% of the area has a high CC (544 ha), 52% of the area has an average CC (1407 ha) and 28% of the area has a low CC (746 ha).

Spatiotemporal Variation of Vegetation Net Primary Productivity and Its Responses to Climate Change in the Huainan Coal Mining Area Abstract The health status of the ecosystem in the Huainan coal mining area was determined based on the net primary productivity (NPP) of vegetation which was simulated by using the GLOPEM–CEVSA coupled model. The characteristics of time-series changes in the NPP of vegetation were analyzed using a univariate linear regression method, and the characteristics of spatial changes were analyzed using the spatial analysis techniques of the geographic information system and spatial autocorrelation method. In addition, the correlations between the NPP and major climatic factors (temperature, precipitation and sunshine duration) and their significance were quantitatively analyzed using statistical analysis methods. The results are as follows: (1) the pixel-by-pixel regression analysis shows that within the study period, 30.52% of the area showed a significant increase, 35.74% showed no changes, and 2.36% showed a significant decrease in the NPP. Overall, the NPP in the study area increased slowly. (2) The spatial distribution of the areas with and without changes in the NPP was also determined. The spatial distribution data show that the NPP is high in the southern and northern areas; however, it is low in the central study area. These results are in agreement with the intensity of human activity (mining area construction and urban development). (3) From a vegetation perspective, high NPP values occurred mostly in croplands, followed by forestlands and grasslands. (4) The pixel-by-pixel correlation analysis of the NPP and the climatic factors of the same period showed some correlations between the annual NPP, the annual precipitation and the annual mean temperature. The data showed significant positive and negative correlations in few areas, and a relatively weak correlation between the annual NPP and annual sunshine duration. From the coupling view of the meteorological factors, it can be found that many pixels were jointly affected by the meteorological factors.

Spatiotemporal Monitoring of Coastal Urbanization Dynamics: Case Study of Algiers’ Bay, Algeria Abstract During the last three decades, the Mediterranean coasts have been under strong anthropogenic pressure inducing ecological and biological degradations such as pollution, destruction of marine ecosystems, and loss of coastal dunes. In Algeria, the same findings have been observed in the bay of Algiers due to the massive urbanization as well as the absence of the quantitative analysis tools of this phenomenon. In this context, the assigned objective of this study is the monitoring of the urban growth in Algiers’ bay between 1985 and 2015 and the prediction of the urban growth by 2030 using remote sensing data, cellular automata modeling, and the landscape metrics analysis. Concerning the prediction step, two scenarios are considered: the “tendencial” which presents the unmanaged urban growth of Algiers City and the active implementation of the Algiers Plan by 2029. To achieve this goal, a retrospective map representing land cover has been produced at different times; this later has allowed us to quantify the urban regions and to implement the urbanization growth model. On the other hand, this study has highlighted the contribution of the spatial metrics on multi-scale level (patch/core, class level and the landscape level) to monitor coastal urbanization in a geometric/fractal view through its multi-temporal evolution, as well as in the two predictive landscapes. This allowed through the spatial metrics indicator and predictive modeling to observe a tendency to massive urbanization of the bay at the expense of remaining natural areas, but also to provide and exhibit some geographical aspects such as the layout of urban cores and the linearity of urbanization parallel to the coast, in order to propose some significant measures for policy-makers to avoid the alarmist environmental degradation of the bay.

Land Assessment for Agricultural Use in Jizan Basin, KSA, After 48 Years of Jizan Dam Construction Abstract Land evaluation, using a scientific method, is crucial to distinguish the potential and limitations of a given land for specific use in terms of its suitability. The main objective of the study is to assess the land capability and suitability in Jizan Basin in front of Jizan Dam, KSA, and its suitability for agricultural crops using multi-criteria evaluation technique. It covers an area of 460 km2 and is bounded by the coordinate 42°57′22″–42°33′28″E and 16°53′12″–17°02′27″N. The data of Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager were used to delineate the physiographic units to be a base for the soil taxonomic units. The physiographic units were precisely distinguished using a digital elevation model such as alluvial stands, alluvial fans, playa and valley. Seventy-four soil profiles were studied to represent the soil units. The thematic maps of the soil properties spatial variations were produced using ArcGIS software. The results indicate that most of soils in Jizan Basin are sandy Loam, which had a very noteworthy influence on their physical and chemical characteristics. The values of organic matter, CaCO3, EC and soil pH were low in most of the study area. Soil taxa were classified into aquisalids and calcigypsids. These taxonomic units were potentially evaluated for soil capability classification. The study area classification showed that 32.3% of the total area belonged to C2 class, 40.7% fit in C3 class, while C4, C5 and C6 classes occupied 27%. Soil suitability analysis showed that the olive, barley and alfalfa were highly suitable (S1) with area percentages of 83.3% 63.2% and 60.3%, respectively. From agriculture point of view, the soils near the red sea, west of Jizan Dam, showed the worst soil properties and lowest agricultural land capability.

Water Column Effects on In Situ Spectral Signatures of Coral Species from Gujarat Coast, India Abstract Scleractinian corals represent the main functional group in a coral reef ecosystem. So far, very few studies have ever reported how an in situ coral spectra changes with increasing water column purely in a natural environment. This paper reports the results of a unique field experiment wherein water column effects were observed over time on in situ hyperspectral signatures (over a continuous spectral range 400–1350 nm) of three live coral species from Gujarat coast of India. In situ hyperspectral measurements were taken with Analytical Spectral Devices (ASD) FieldSpec3 spectroradiometer having full spectral range of 350–2500 nm and spectral resolution of 3 nm (at 700 nm) and 10 nm (at 1400, 2100 nm). Three coral species, Favia favus, Goniopora planulata and Turbinaria peltata, were selected as case representatives for this study. In exposed condition, all three corals exhibit brown mode of coral reflectance with characteristic triple peaks at 575, 600 and 650 nm. It is observed that water column attenuates the original signature of corals by enhancing the spectral magnitude in the visible region and in inverse fashion in the infrared region. The first derivative spectra clearly bring out the sensitivity of 840-nm channel towards water column. The water column height at which the triple peak pattern gets obscured varies for the three coral species. The spectral reflectance of coral as a bottom substrate continues to remain strong between 700–720 and 1050–1080 nm even in marginally submerged condition.

Questions of Concern in Drawing Up a Remote Sensing Change Detection Plan Abstract Change detection is one of the most important applications in remote sensing. Regarding the long period in data gathering by remote sensing, the potential for change detection of the planet through this technology is high. Designing a remote sensing change detection plan is a big challenge due to the existence of several options regarding methodologies and data. Previous reviews in the literature have mostly focused on the change detection methodology, while the other aspects of a change detection plan are often not studied in detail. The major aspects of a remote sensing change detection plan include subject of the change detection, the time elapsed, the study area, analysis unit, accuracy requirement, and outputs constituting focal points here. These aspects are briefed in the form of eight questions fitted in a change detection process together with related discussions. Finally, a table of the main steps involved in the change detection plan and the outputs of each step thereof is compiled. The present review exhibits that more research is necessary to explore additional aspects of a change detection plan beyond the existing change detection methods.

Toward GIS-Based Approach for Identification of Ecological Sensitivity Areas: Multi-Criteria Evaluation Technique for Promotion of Tourism in Soon Valley, Pakistan Abstract Ecologically sensitive areas are sensitive regions which provide natural habitat to native and migratory wildlife. The area under study is Soon Valley which is of significant value since it is rich in natural resources and an important tourist attraction. It has the potential to benefit the communities’ environment, along with providing aesthetic, recreational and economical benefits. Special attention is required for the preservation of these areas to develop the tourism industry in this region. This paper aims to highlight the spatial locations of Soon Valley according to the ecological sensitivity. To achieve this purpose, ecological knowledge is integrated with geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing techniques. An ecological assessment study was conducted based on the ecological indicators and their synthesis to identify ecologically significant and preference areas within the area under study. For this purpose, eight ecological indicators were defined and the spatial extent for each indicator was mapped in GIS. For analysis purpose, weightage factor and buffer area for each class were defined in accordance with the significance of the feature. The final analysis revealed four classes including very high (6%), high (20%), moderate (39%) and low (34%) ecological sensitive areas.

Study on Distribution Characteristics of Suspended Sediment in Yellow River Estuary Based on Remote Sensing Abstract In this paper, we used the MODIS L1B remote sensing images of March, June, September and December in 2006–2011 which were selected. The distribution characteristics of suspended sediment in the Yellow River estuary were analyzed by combining the cross-calibrated multi-platform wind data of the same period. From the spatial distribution, there are mainly three high concentration suspended sediment areas near the Yellow River estuary and the concentration of suspended sediment near the shore is greater than that in the deep sea. From the seasonal distribution, the content of suspended sediment in spring and winter is higher than that in summer and autumn. The region of high suspended sediment is least in summer. The suspended sediment concentration is higher in the southern area than in the northern area, and the near-shore water is higher than that in the deep sea. The results show that local wind field has a certain influence on the distribution of suspended sediment and the correlation coefficient is 0.38.

An Assessment of Urban Sprawl in Northern Sakarya Province Following the 1999 Earthquake, NW Turkey Abstract Quantifying and monitoring the spatial and temporal dynamics of the land use/land cover (LULC) in a given region are critical for better characterizing land use generally, including that for social, economic and environmental purposes. Urbanization plays a key role in modifying land cover and has a widespread impact on the environment, where uncontrolled urban sprawl also leads to disruption of landscapes and habitat and degradation in biodiversity. Monitoring continuous LULC changes can provide helpful insights for decision makers of future planning, in terms of establishing robust land use management planning. However, urban growth is very complex phenomenon and hard to control under unpredictable disasters such as earthquakes. Here, we have focused on Sakarya Province in order to assess LULC change in the city following the 1999 Kocaeli earthquake. For this purpose, three Landsat satellite images were used covering the last two decades. Segmentation process and supervised classification of images were also employed. In the whole study region following the 1999 destructive earthquake, the image analysis result shows that the significant transformation in land use developed in the settlement area from 1291.5 to 1516.3 ha (up to 17.4% in ratio) due to migration. According to the results, a decrease of 21.2% was recorded in forest areas from 3505.7 to 2761.3 ha and a decrease of 15.8% was recorded in inland wetlands from 120.5 to 101.0 ha. In contrast, we have estimated an increase in agricultural areas from 63.2 to 67.2 ha (6.3% in ratio) despite a slight decrease in the 2008–2016 periods. In conclusion, we have observed a northern urban sprawl in the area where the natural balance is estimated to deteriorate in the coming years.

Analyzing Area Dynamics on a Protected Floodplain Using Long-Term Sequential Data: The Case of Kaziranga National Park Abstract The present work targets a serious information gap created by extant fragmental and intermittent data on river bank erosion and accretion dynamics. Hence, a sequential three-decade profiling of erosion and accretion activities within the Kaziranga National Park—a protected area in the flood plain of the Brahmaputra, was undertaken. Thirty consecutive Landsat images from 1987 to 2016 were analyzed in GIS environment, to evaluate long-term sequential data and derive a baseline reference. Overlay analysis was carried out to estimate the magnitudes and intensities of erosion and accretion in spatiotemporal scale. The resultant mean rates of erosion and accretion have been estimated to be 184.2 ha/year and 93.9 ha/year, respectively. Consequently, the resultant net reduction in the park land area was 2617.7 ha, which projected a mean net rate of 90.3 ha/year. Erosion was therefore annually recurrent and dominant over accretion. The resultant area dynamics, from the assessment of the spatiotemporal scale, provided a reliable, continuous data resource that overcomes the information lacunae from available fragmented studies. In addition, assessment with sequential data displayed a more accurate reflection of actual topography as compared to intermittent data results, which in turn can validate and enrich data resources, on the area dynamics of the Brahmaputra floodplain. Finally, defining a reference perspective derived from long-term sequential data that endorses the twin episodes of erosion and accretion will be vital for floodplain management.