Spatial and temporal analysis of forest cover changes in the Bartin region of northwestern Turkey

Abstract

This study analyzed the changes in the forest areas in Bartin province of Turkey and the surrounding areas using remote sensing data and GIS techniques. Three Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) images of the study region, recorded in 1987, 1992, and 2000, were utilized. The main land-use characteristics were derived using a maximum-likelihood classification technique. The remotely sensed data allows monitoring of current land use/land cover and detection of temporal changes. Furthermore, a temporal and spatial comparison of the classified image can be performed using Geographical Information System (GIS) to show land-use changes. GIS analysis of the classification results based on reference datasets revealed that the area covered by forests decreased significantly and that the amount of the reduction corresponded mainly to increased agricultural land use. The reasons for this negative impact on forested areas were growth in the region's population, and expansion of agricultural areas and settlements. The classification results also showed that past, afforestation work had been successful.