Remote Sensing and GIS methods for detecting changes in Land Cover and Urbanization in Khartoum, Sudan (1975-2022)

Year 2025, Volume: 9 Issue: 4, 678 - 685, 08.10.2025

Samah Fathelrahman , Hossamaldeen Mohamed

Abstract

Urban expansion significantly influences the spatial and socioeconomic structure of cities, Khartoum, Sudan, for analyzing these dynamics over the past decades. This Study utilizes Landsat imagery from 1975 to 2022 to investigate land cover changes and urbanization patterns in Khartoum. Remote sensing data from Landsat 5 TM, Landsat 7 ETM+, and Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS was employed to provide a comprehensive temporal analysis of land cover changes. The study utilized a Random Forest (RF) classifier for image classification, producing maps depicting land cover categories including Water, Developed Areas, Barren Land, and Vegetation. Accuracy assessments were conducted using confusion matrices and kappa coefficients, demonstrating robust classification performance with kappa values ranging from 0.81 to 0.87 across the study years. The findings reveal a dramatic increase in developed areas from 5.04% in 1975 to 61.22 % in 2022, highlighting rapid urbanization. Concurrently, barren land decreased from 74.46% to 26.86%, and vegetated areas shrank from 11.41% to 5.30%. Water bodies exhibited fluctuations, with a slight decrease from 9.09% to 6.65%, potentially reflecting improved measurement accuracy or actual changes in water availability. The study underscores the implications of these changes for land management and urban planning, emphasizing the need for sustainable growth strategies. Methodologically, the study's use of GIS and remote sensing techniques provides a nuanced understanding of urbanization's impact on land cover. The integration of these technologies enables detailed spatial analysis and offers valuable insights for managing urban expansion and its environmental consequences. The results call for the implementation of urban growth boundaries, the promotion of green infrastructure, and enhanced water resource management to mitigate the effects of rapid urbanization and ensure sustainable development.

Keywords

Urbanization , Land Cover Change , Landsat image , Land Management strategies , Dynamic Changes

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