ASSESSMENT OF THE EXPANSION OF ALFALFA CULTIVATED AREAS IN THE EMIRATES OF ABU DHABI USING GEOSPATIAL TECHNIQUES

Abdulaziz Abdulla Aljaberi, Khalid Hussein

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

The agriculture sector poses a real threat to groundwater. Irrigated crop cultivation practices change groundwater levels as a result of cultivating crops or farming plants that consume large amounts of water. Alfalfa is an example of a high-water consuming crop, being a widely cultivated crop in the UAE. It needs 18 to 36 inches of water per season and according to Statistics Center Abu Dhabi (SCAD) in 2016, most of the farms are producing alfalfa. This research has been conducted with the objective of assessing the expansion of the alfalfa-cultivated areas in the Abu Dhabi Emirate over two decades. It is based on a total of five vegetation indices (VIs) were calculated and stacked with visible and near-infrared bands (VNIR), producing a composite image. The image was then classified applying unsupervised ISODATA algorithm, with the end goal of generating a map that shows the areas planted with alfalfa for three different years using images provided by the Landsat satellite. As a result, we detected an ongoing increase in the area occupied by alfalfa in around 20 years, which increased from 102.32 km2 to 430.59 km2 between 2002 and 2020. The output was cross validated with field samples, and the overall accuracy of the method was around 81.7%. The significant and rapid increase of the areas planted with alfalfa in Abu Dhabi farms prompts the government to replace it with other crops that are better suited to the region's arid climate.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication44th Asian Conference on Remote Sensing, ACRS 2023
PublisherAsian Association on Remote Sensing
ISBN (Electronic)9781713893646
Publication statusPublished - 2023
Event44th Asian Conference on Remote Sensing, ACRS 2023 - Taipei, Taiwan, Province of China
Duration: Oct 30 2023Nov 3 2023

Publication series

Name44th Asian Conference on Remote Sensing, ACRS 2023

Conference

Conference44th Asian Conference on Remote Sensing, ACRS 2023
Country/TerritoryTaiwan, Province of China
CityTaipei
Period10/30/2311/3/23

Keywords

  • Alfalfa Plant
  • Unsupervised ISODATA Classification
  • Vegetation Indices
  • Visible and Near Infrared

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Information Systems

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