A survey on quantity changes of mangrove forests in Iran with remote sensing (Case study: Gwadar Bay in Sistan and Baluchestan province)

The Gwadar Bay is located in the southwest coasts far end of Iran at Sistan and Baluchestan province at 25 degrees 1 ' to 25 degrees 12 ' N and 61 degrees 25 ' to 61 degrees 46 ' E. The Gwadar Bay has about 435 km(2) area. Almost 40% of the bay is in Iran and the rest belongs to Pakistan. Mangrove forests of Bahukalat and Gwadar inlets in Gwadar Bay are important factors in this province. These forests are considered as a unique habitat for a vast number of animals and living creatures and have great economic importance. The aim of this study is investigating quantity changes of mangrove forests in Gwadar Bay. For this purpose, the TM and IRS satellite images during 1987 and 2008 were used. First, the detection operation and geo-referencing of the images was performed. Then classification of the images and detection of forests boundaries was made by the multi-band supervised classification. Finally, the area of the forests was calculated during considered years and the final processing was analyzed. The results shows, the situation a quantity mangrove forests has been upward in Gwadar Bay. The results show that the forests area increased from 384 hectares in 1987 to 607 hectares in 2008. This amount is also visible in Bahukalat and Gwadar Bay.