Using Remote Sensing Technique for Monitoring of Syrian Coastal Zone Degradation at Reconnaissance scale

• Ahmad Yaghi
• Environmental Studies Department, General Organization of Remote Sensing (GORS), Damascus, Syria.
• Email: a.yaghi@scs-net .org
• International Conference About the Sustainable Development in the Syrian Coast

Abstract

Syrian coastal zone natural resources were exposed to severe pressure during the last two centuries. Large forestry areas were cut for different purposes and most of the remaining ones are degraded with different levels. This study was conducted in the frame of the project "Improving Coastal Land Degradation Monitoring in Lebanon and Syria". It can be considered as fundamental and basic information about the status of natural resources and soil erosion severity as well as it allowed the production of guidelines and recommendations for the whole costal zone.
The study aimed to: 1) Implement a methodological approach and capacity building program, for supporting plans to control and manage land degradation in Syrian coastal zone, 2) provide the country planners and decision makers with thematic map (erosion risk map) which help them to know the level of sensitivity to erosion over the coastal zone, 3) provide the country planners and decision makers with technical tools for acquiring knowledge on causes and effects of land degradation, and 4) produce guidelines and recommendations for supporting coastal land degradation control and management.
The applied methodology is based on an holistic approach which, the main components of the land; such as soil, vegetation, geomorphology, hydrology are not considered individually but as a whole, they are mapped simultaneously, taking also into account interactions between them and man's influence, so that the result is something more than just the sum of all of them.
The methodology is mainly depending on: 1) the usage of Landsat TM 7 satellite image, 2) Geographic Information System (GIS) to produce different thematic maps 3) field survey in order collect the information related to reconnaissance survey and erosion risk estimation, and 4) programming special software and GIS module to estimate the soil erosion risk and to produce soil erosion risk map.
GIS module included most factors which influence soil erosion. These factors are relevant to slope (length, gradient and form), soil (depth and texture), vegetation cover (type, pattern and density) and conservation practices and others. These factors were weighted differently according to their roles in soil erosion.
The achieved results are mainly relevant to erosion risk estimation, where areas and locations of different erosion risk classes were assigned (soil erosion risk map).
Based on the results of this study, the project working team was able to provide some general recommendations to be used as input data for the detailed analysis program.
General recommendations for the land degradation management of the whole study area were set into two main groups. The first one is related to the technical issues that deal directly with erosion phenomena it self. The other one is related to the policies and strategies that designed for sustain management of the land.
It is concluded that the Management and conservation of natural resources can be well done by the usage of modern technologies (remote sensing, GIS and Participatory approach) and the orientation of institutional efforts so to ensure the continuous satisfaction of human needs for present and future generations.
Key words: Remote sensing, GIS, soil erosion, erosion risk map.