Depicting changes in land surface cover at Al-Hassa oasis of Saudi Arabia using remote sensing and GIS techniques

Abstract

This study assessed the spatial and temporal variations of land cover in the agricultural areas of the Al-Hassa oasis, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Change detection technique was applied in order to classify variations among different surface cover aspects, during three successive stages between 1985 and 2017 (i.e., 1985 to 1999 (14 years), 1999 to 2013 (14 years), and 2013 to 2017 (4 years)), using two scenarios. During the first stage, significant urban sprawl (i.e., 3,200 ha) occurred on bare lands within the old oasis, while only 590 ha of the oasis’s vegetation area was occupied by urban cover. However, the final stage revealed rapid urban development (1,270 ha by 2017) within the oasis’s vegetation region, while no urban sprawl occurred on bare lands (area of 1,900 ha, same as that in 1999–2013). Vegetation cover of around 1,000 ha changed to the bare soil class, in addition to the areas that were occupied by the urban class (1,700 ha in total). The study provides quantitative information on the influence of urban development on the spatial changes in vegetation cover of the oasis, especially during recent decades.

Integration of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Remote Sensing to Assess Threats to Preservation of the Oases: Case of Al Ain, UAE

“…The analysis also indicated that the pace of urban expansion is accelerating, posing a significant threat to the oases (Table 7). A notable example illustrating this is the transformation of the vegetated portion of Al Hassa oases in Saudi Arabia, where rapid development has led to the conversion of the oases' vegetation into bare soil [63]. Therefore, preservation policies must be prioritized and supported by community engagement for the sustainable use and preservation of oases [64].…”

Characterizing physical and hydraulic properties of soils in Al-Ahsa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

“…It takes L-shaped toward north and east with total area of 320 km 2 . According to Almadini et al, 2019 Al-Ahsa oasis consists of two major parts, the old and new oases. The total area of the old oasis is about 20,000 ha, of which 8200 ha are under irrigated cultivation being divide into 25,000 farms ( Almadini et al, 2021 ).…”

Oasis Change Characteristics and Influencing Factors in the Shiyang River Basin, China

“…Since the reform and opening up, due to the rapid growth of the population, the continuous development of the economy, and the change of climate, the oasis in China has experienced a large-scale expansion [4,5]. Similarly, oasis expansion was also found in the arid areas of other countries in the past few decades, such as the oasis in the Manas River Basin [6], the middle reaches of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau [7], and Al-Aba Oasis (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) [8]. Especially, the area of artificial oases dominated by cultivated land and construction land has increased, such as the oasis of Middle Draa Valley (Morocco) [9] and Todos Santos Oasis (Mexico) [10].…”

“…In recent years, researchers have carried out a lot of research on the spatial and temporal changes of the oasis in arid zones [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18], greatly advancing our knowledge on the vegetation coverage change [19], land use change [11], landscape pattern of oasis [20], the driving forces of oasis change [4], oasis stability [21], and oasis land-use change prediction [17]. The research areas of the oasis in China are mostly concentrated in the main distribution areas of the oasis such as Xinjiang [22,23] and the Hexi Corridor of Gansu Province [24][25][26][27].…”