Urban Growth Patterns and Forest Carbon Dynamics in the Metropolitan Twin Cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Abdul Mannan, Fan Yongxiang, Tauheed Ullah Khan, Syed Moazzam Nizami, Beckline Mukete, Adnan Ahmad, Ummay Amara, Jincheng Liu and Mamoona Wali Muhammad
Additional contact information
Abdul Mannan: Advance Remote Sensing Technology Research Office, Ji Hua Laboratory, Foshan 528000, China
Fan Yongxiang: Advance Remote Sensing Technology Research Office, Ji Hua Laboratory, Foshan 528000, China
Tauheed Ullah Khan: School of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Syed Moazzam Nizami: Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, University of Haripur, Haripur 26100, Pakistan
Beckline Mukete: Department of Forest Management, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Adnan Ahmad: Department of Forestry, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University, Sheringal 18050, Pakistan
Ummay Amara: Department of Agriculture, PMAS Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi 46000, Pakistan
Jincheng Liu: College of Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China
Mamoona Wali Muhammad: Director Forest Education Division, Pakistan Forest Institute, Peshawar 25130, Pakistan

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 22, 1-14

Abstract: The unchecked and unplanned expansion of urban areas has led to the conversion of millions of green areas to gray areas. The recent urban growth patterns of Pakistan’s metropolitan twin cities, Islamabad and Rawalpindi, is a matter of concern for the surrounding green areas. The present study aimed to categorize and quantify the land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) patterns and the corresponding impacts on the forest carbon dynamics around Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Multispectral satellite images for the year 1990 (Landsat 5 TM) and 2020 (Landsat 8 OLI) were used to determine, quantify, and compare the LULCC inside and around the twin metropolitan cities. Field inventory surveys in the reserved forests of Rawalpindi and Islamabad were also conducted to determine the amount of stored carbon in these forests. Our results showed an accelerated annual urban expansion (i.e., an increase in the built-up area) of 16.49% and 26.72% in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, respectively, during the study period. Similarly, the amount of barren land and agricultural land was reduced at an annual rate of 2.08% and 2.18%, respectively, in Rawalpindi and 0.25% and 1.04% in Islamabad. A reduction in the area of barren mountains also occurred at an annual of 2.26% in Islamabad, while it increased by 4.16% in Rawalpindi. The amount of carbon stored in the reserved forests of Islamabad stood at 139.17 ± 12.15 Mg C/ha while that of Rawalpindi was 110.4 ± 13.79 Mg C/ha. In addition, total stored forest carbon was found to have decreased from 544.70 Gg C to 218.05 Gg C in Rawalpindi, while in Islamabad it increased from 2779.64 Gg C to 3548.16 Gg C. Investment in ecological urban planning, sustainable cities, and appropriate land-use planning is recommended to curb the degradation and conversion of the surrounding green areas of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

Keywords: land use; land-cover change; remote sensing; forest carbon; urbanization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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