Land Use/Land Cover Change and Environmental Impact Assessment in Beni-Mellal District (Morocco) Using Remote Sensing and GIS

Urbanization sprawls at the expense of the surrounding land corresponding generally to agricultural land or natural areas. Therefore, evaluating land use and land cover change (LULCC) is important. In this study, LULCC and its environmental impact in Beni-Mellal town and the surrounding communes (Morocco) are investigated between 2002 and 2016 using remote sensing, geographical information system (GIS), and fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP). Remotely sensed imagery combined with GIS served to evaluate the typical LULCC dynamics. FAHP allowed calculating the weights of each LULC class used to generate the map of the environmental impact of LULCC. The results showed that arable fields, built-up and bare soil classes are increased about 2.75%, 177.81%, and 4.47%, respectively, while arboriculture and forest LULC classes are decreased about 40.64% and 53.85%, respectively. The environmental degradation map produced with regard to the LULCC indicated that the lands severely degraded are those transformed from arboriculture to built-up and bare soil, followed by those transformed from arable fields to built-up and bare soil, while moderate degradation is marked in areas of arboriculture transformed to arable fields. To mitigate the degradation of natural resources such as fertile agricultural soil and fruit trees, we suggest that urban construction should be encouraged in hilly areas in the mountain communes, and the regional and communal management plans must be developed and respected. As highlighted by this study, combining remote sensing and GIS could be an effective approach to LULC planning and improving the environment.