The Study and Evaluation of the Trend of Forest Surface Changes Using the Remote Sensing and GIS: A Case Study of Arasbaran Forests (1987-2005)

This research has been carried out with the aim of the determination of the land-use changes of the forests in the protected area of Arasbaran. The determination of the changing points and the factors influencing these changes by the use of GIS and remote sensing are the main aims of this research. Accordingly, the satellite pictures pertaining to the years 1987 and 2005 along with other necessary data were gathered. Thereafter, the required data such as topography, the land-use, the roads, settlement centers and so on were entered into the GIS environment. The radiometric correction activities, the geometric correction, the image classification, and finally, the uncovering of the land-use changes were carried out. Then with the combination of the parameters affecting the land-use changes of Arasbaran forests such as the settling areas, the height surface, the gradient, and so on the factors affecting the changes in Arasbaran forests were discovered. Accordingly, at first the 6 km. domain was selected as the space affected by the villages. The height surfaces were also calculated based on the Digital Elevation Model (DEM). Based on this finding, the area surface gradient was also estimated. By the use of overlaying method, the relationship between the changed areas with the existing parameters and also the amount of area were calculated. The results indicated that among the affective elements in the land-use changes of the Arasbaran forests, the settlement center have been the main factors in the changing trends which should be seriously taken into the consideration for the future planning.

Keywords: Arasbaran forests, Remote sensing, GIS, land-use changes of the forests, change detection