Evaluating the Effect of Prosopis juliflora, an Alien Invasive Species, on Land Cover Change Using Remote Sensing Approach

Maher J. Tadros, Amani Al-Assaf, Yahia A. Othman, Zeyad Makhamreh and Hatem Taifour
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Maher J. Tadros: Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Faculty of Agriculture, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid 22110, Jordan
Amani Al-Assaf: Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, The University of Jordan, Amman 11942, Jordan
Yahia A. Othman: Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, The University of Jordan, Amman 11942, Jordan
Zeyad Makhamreh: Department of Geography, The University of Jordan, Amman 11942, Jordan
Hatem Taifour: School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9YL, UK

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 15, 1-13

Abstract: Invasive plant species (IPS) affect people’s livelihoods and well-being by providing both benefits and costs in different contexts. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of Prosopis juliflora invasion on land cover change using ground survey and satellite sensor data derived from Landsat ETM+. The study was conducted at Sweimeh, Jordan Valley, between 1999 and 2017. The overall classification accuracy of remotely sensed data was 86% for 1999 and 80% for 2017. Accordingly, a remote sensing approach has the potential to assess land change/cover and aid in monitoring the IPS, specifically Prosopis invasion. Change detection analysis of Landsat classes (i.e., 1999 and 2017) showed that bare soil, urban, and water surface areas decreased by 6%, 11%, and 3%, respectively. Conversely, the vegetation class (i.e., IPS and native plants) increased by 20%. Ground surveys in 1999 and 2017 showed that the average vegetation area in Sweimeh invaded by Prosopis was approximately 60% in 1999 and 70% in 2017. Accordingly, the total estimated area invaded by P. juliflora at Sweimeh (2106 ha) in 1999 was approximately 92 ha, while Prosopis coverage in the same region was approximately 413 ha in 2017. The high emergence rate, the adaptation to high temperatures and low precipitation as well as governmental regulations which restrict the removal of trees, including IPS, were the main factors that prompted the extreme P. juliflora invasion in the Jordan Valley. The high invasion rate has led to a reduction in native species, including Tamarix spp., and dried up five natural water springs in the area. Overall, a monitoring plan should be applied to control the invasion problem by Prosopis in the valley. In addition, the conservation regulations that deal with IPS should be revised to mitigate the IPS risk.

Keywords: Landsat; socio-economic; mesquite; image classification; Tamarix; Jordan Valley (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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