Land cover change and its causes in Goizha Mountain

Avan  Ali Muhamad; Hoshyar  Qadir Rasul

doi:10.25098/8.1.24

Authors

Avan Ali Muhamad Department of City Planning, Technical College of Engineering, Sulaimani Polytechnic University, Sulaimani. Iraq.
Hoshyar Qadir Rasul Department of City Planning, Technical College of Engineering, Sulaimani Polytechnic University, Sulaimani. Iraq.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25098/8.1.24

Keywords:

Land use and land cover change (LULCC), Built-up area, Human encroachment, Goizha Mountain

Abstract

Iraq has recently been dealing with a variety of environmental problems, such as the destruction of the natural habitat, erosion and soil deterioration, and the threat of desertification; the key factor in these changes is the alteration of natural features throughout the development of urbanization with the globalization process. This study aims to investigate and comprehend the changes in land use and land cover change (LULCC) on Goizha Mountain, located in the northern part of Sulaimani city. The primary objective is to identify the reasons for these changes, the individuals responsible, In addition to their impact on the citie's identity. Also, significant environmental repercussions that might develop later. This study used a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods to achieve its objectives. Data collected through a spatial-temporal study from 2017 to 2021 and a questionnaire survey to gather citizens' opinions on the causes and those responsible for LULCCC on Goizha Mountain. The goal was to gather comprehensive and accurate information about the changes and identify the underlying factors. The results of the study show built-up areas significantly increases in the study area on recent years at the expense of natural vegetation, and the identity of Goizha Mountain during the years 2017 to 2021. The study's findings confirm that human encroaching causes have a greater impact on natural change in the study area than natural disaster causes. In order to develop the necessary policies and laws, the results of the research have an important impact on reducing and eliminating this phenomenon and protecting the natural remains of Goizha Mountain that still exist.

References

F. Chuanglin, L. Haimeng, and L. Guangdong, "international progress and evaluation on interactive coupling effects between urbanization and the ecoenvironment," DOI.10.1007/s11442-016-1317-9 .2016.

J. Peng, L. Tian, Y. Liu, M. Zhao, and J. Wu, "Ecosystem services response to urbanization in metropolitan areas: Thresholds identification," Science of the Total Environment, vol. 607, pp. 706-714, DOI. 10.1016/j.2017.

UNEP(UN environment programme)"Smart, Sustainable and Resilient cities: the Power of Nature-based Solutions.," G20 ITALIA 2021.

V. V. Gamit and Z. H. Gandhi, "Impact of urbanization on environment, p-ISSN: 2395-0072 . Vol: 06 Issue: 12 " 2019.

M. Liu, Y. Hu, Y. Chang, X. He, and W. Zhang, "Land use and land cover change analysis and prediction in the upper reaches of the Minjiang River, China," Environmental management, vol. 43, pp. 899-907, DOI 10.1007/s00267-008-9263-7 .2009.

G. Weldu Woldemariam and A. Edo Harka, "Effect of land use and land cover change on soil erosion in erer sub-basin, Northeast Wabi Shebelle Basin, Ethiopia," Land, vol. 9, no. 4, p. 111, doi.org/10.3390/land9040111 .2020.

C. D. Ritter, G. McCrate, R. H. Nilsson, P. M. Fearnside, U. Palme, and A. Antonelli, "Environmental impact assessment in Brazilian Amazonia: Challenges and prospects to assess biodiversity," Biological Conservation, vol. 206, pp. 161-168, DOI10.1016/j.biocon.2016.12.031 2017.

M. M. Hassan and M. N. I. Nazem, "Examination of land use/land cover changes, urban growth dynamics, and environmental sustainability in Chittagong city, Bangladesh," Environment, development and sustainability, vol. 18, pp. 697-716, DOI 10.1007/s10668-015-9672-8 2016.

B. Gutti, M. M. Aji, and G. Magaji, "Environmental impact of natural resources exploitation in Nigeria and the way forward," Journal of Applied technology in Environmental sanitation, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 95-102, ISSN 2088- 3218.2012.

E. K. K. Jew, O. J. Burdekin, A. J. Dougill, and S. M. Sallu, "Rapid land use change threatens provisioning ecosystem services in miombo woodlands," vol. 43, pp. 56-70: Natural Resources Forum 43 (2019) 56–70. DOI: 10.1111/1477-8947.12167 Wiley Online Library.

Y. Yang, H. Zheng, L. Kong, B. Huang, W. Xu, and Z. Ouyang, "Mapping ecosystem services bundles to detect high-and low-value ecosystem services areas for land use management," Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 225, pp. 11-17, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.03.242 2019.

O. Englund, G. Berndes, and C. Cederberg, "How to analyse ecosystem services in landscapes—A systematic review," Ecological Indicators, vol. 73, pp. 492-504, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.10.009 2017.

C. Quintas-Soriano, A. J. Castro, H. Castro, and M. García-Llorente, "Impacts of land use change on ecosystem services and implications for human well-being in Spanish drylands," Land use policy, vol. 54, pp. 534-548, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2016.03.011 2016.

S. S. Hasan, L. Zhen, M. G. Miah, T. Ahamed, and A. Samie, "Impact of land use change on ecosystem services: A review," Environmental Development, vol. 34, p. 100527, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envdev.2020.100527 2020.

S. Štrbac et al., "Implementation and upscaling of nature-based solution in protected areas and pathways to providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits," DOI10.5194/egusphere-egu21-6487 pp. EGU21-6487.

L. Cheng, Y. Zhang, and H. Sun, "Vegetation Cover Change and Relative Contributions of Associated Driving Factors in the Ecological Conservation and Development Zone of Beijing, China," Polish Journal of Environmental Studies, vol. 29, no. 1, DOI: https://doi.org/10.15244/pjoes/102368 2020.

A. Faraj, "Land use/land cover and change detection for the Iraqi Province of Sulaimaniyah in using remote sensing,"thesis 2014.

A. A. Othman, A. T. Shihab, A. F. Al-Maamar, and Y. I. Al-Saady, "Monitoring of the land cover changes in Iraq," Environmental Remote Sensing and GIS in Iraq, pp. 181-203, 2020.

B. A. Al-Qayim, H. S. Al-Daghstany, and A. K. Bety, "GIS-BASED URBAN GEOMORPHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE SULAIMANIA CITY, KURDISTAN REGION, NE IRAQ," Iraqi Bulletin of Geology and Mining, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 71-89, ISSN 1311 – 4539 .2019.

S. S. Hassan and H. K. Waheed, "Natural plant management and development in Sulaymaniyah Governorate," AL-ADAB JOURNAL, vol. 3, Issue 137, Pages 473-494, 2021.

I. Kaymaz, "Urban landscapes and identity," in Advances in landscape architecture: IntechOpen, DOI: 10.5772/55754 2013.

M. Rasel and M. Parvez, "Environmental impact assessment for rapid urbanization in the coastal area of Bangladesh: a case study on Cox's Bazar sadar upazila. J," City Develop, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 48-59, DOI:10.12691/jcd-3-1-6.2021.

H. M. Yusuf, "Assessment of the Impact of Urban Expansion on the Surrounding Environment of Jijiga City: Somali Region," thesis.2013.

W. Zhou, S. Zhang, W. Yu, J. Wang, and W. Wang, "Effects of urban expansion on forest loss and fragmentation in six megaregions, China," Remote Sensing, vol. 9, no. 10, p. 991, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs9100991.2017.

S. A. A. S. Salah, "Qaiwan Mountain Plants Field Guide," Book.

S. A. A. S. Salah, "Azmar-Goizha Plant Field Guide," Book.

H. M. Ahmed, "Ethnopharmacobotanical study on the medicinal plants used by herbalists in Sulaymaniyah Province, Kurdistan, Iraq," Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 1-17, https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-016-0081-3 2016.

S. G. Salar, A. A. Othman, S. Rasooli, S. S. Ali, Z. T. Al-Attar, and V. Liesenberg, "GIS-based modeling for vegetated land fire prediction in Qaradagh Area, Kurdistan Region, Iraq," Sustainability, vol. 14, no. 10, p. 6194, https://doi.org/10.3390/su14106194 2022.

S. Patra, S. Sahoo, P. Mishra, and S. C. Mahapatra, "Impacts of urbanization on land use/cover changes and its probable implications on local climate and groundwater level," Journal of urban management, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 70-84, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jum.2018.04.006 2018.

S. Mansour, M. Al-Belushi, and T. Al-Awadhi, "Monitoring land use and land cover changes in the mountainous cities of Oman using GIS and CA-Markov modelling techniques," Land Use Policy, vol. 91, p. 104414, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104414 2020.

M. Moniruzzaman et al., "Decadal urban land use/land cover changes and its impact on surface runoff potential for the Dhaka City and surroundings using remote sensing," Remote Sensing, vol. 13, no. 1, p. 83, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13010083 2020.

D. Geneletti, Ecological evaluation for environmental impact assessment. Koninklijk Nederlands Aardrijkskundig Genootschap, Book.2002.