LAND USE/COVER CHANGES IN THE DIEN KHANH DISTRICT, VIETNAM, IDENTIFIED USING REMOTELY SENSED DATA

The growth of population and economic expansion in the past few decades is apparent in many developing countries. The economic reforms in Vietnam since the 1980s have brought a positive impact on the economy and well-being of its population. On the other hand, the rapid development is driven by the enormous exploitation of natural resources and a fundamental change in land use patterns. The past two decades of landscape history of Vietnam can be characterized by deforestation, industrialization and urbanization processes. Due to the lack of official statistical data and its restricted accessibility, remotely sensed data represents the most precise available source for the study of landscape changes in the region. LANDSAT 5 and 7 images taken in 1996 and 2009 were processed, classified and compared in the ENVI environment. The outcomes of the image analysis were verified by field work (photography) and followed up by the calculation of landscape metrics in the V-LATE ArcGIS extension for both years. Finally, the quantitative results were supplemented with qualitative research. The Land use/cover changes in the region were discussed with the local residents using structured interviews in order to get information about the perception of the LUCC and the economic situation over the past 15 years. Our results indicate a clear trend in the reduction of natural and semi natural landscape patterns such as forests, grassland and bush areas due to the increase of arable land, located mainly in lowlands. Forested areas have been cut down or burnt mainly on account of the expansion of horticulture and plantations. These processes took part mostly on gentle slopes suitable for planting other crops such as bananas. Due to these processes, natural areas tend to be more fragmented. The research presented documents the fundamental and rapid changes together with their driving forces. The deforestation and the expansion of arable land in the mentioned period is typical for similar regions in Vietnam and developing countries in general.