Dr Mohammad Rahmani, Dr ّfarhan Ahmadi Mirghaed, Dr Sareh Mollaaghajanzadeh,
Volume 11, Issue 1 (5-2024)
This study aimed to assess the habitat quality of the Tajan watershed in northern Iran through land use changes from 1992 to 2052 and to investigate its relationship with landscape metrics, including number of patches (NP), patch density (PD), edge density (ED), largest patch index (LPI), landscape shape index (LSI), and splitting index (SPLIT). Landsat 8 and 4 images were processed to produce land use maps for 1992, 2022, and 2052 using maximum likelihood, cross-combination, and CA-Markov methods in ENVI and TerrSet software. Habitat quality was also assessed using InVEST in three scenarios based on the land use maps. Relationships were analyzed using least squares regression and Spearman's correlation test. The results showed that from 1992 to 2052, forest and agricultural areas had the most decreasing (-82,460 hectares) and increasing (76,392 hectares) changes, respectively. Habitats in the central part of the watershed had higher quality than those in the northern and southern parts. The relationship between habitat quality and land use changes is significant and inverse (-0.95<R<-0.85, P-value <0.01), with indirect and significant NP, PD, ED, and LSI metrics (-0.46<R<-0.35, P-value <0.05), and weak for LPI and SPLIT metrics. This study confirmed that the quality of habitats in the study area has decreased under the influence of land use changes and landscape features in the past 30 years, and the same trend is likely to continue in the next 30 years. The results of this study can be used as a basis for decision-making in the direction of land use development in the region and its environmental protection.
