Assessment of Land Cover Change Impacts (1987–2022) Over Environmental Degradation Using NDVI Index and GIS Tools Within Upstream Part of Oum Err Bia Basin (Morocco)

In the Mediterranean catchments, anthropogenic activities during the last few years have increasingly modified the space and affected the environment, especially with the transformation of forest cover to agricultural activities. Assessing land cover degradation is crucial to having the best control and management of environmental issues. The studied part is situated in the Oum Err Bia basin, which is a part of the Atlas Mountains, characterized by high altitudes upstream and belonging to the Tadla plain in the downstream part. Besides, these characteristics make the studied area vulnerable to environmental issues due to human activity. This article aims to explore LULCC and its environmental impact by investigating it between 1987 and 2021, adopting remote sensing and geographical information systems. Landsat 7–8 TM images with the NDVI index have been used. As a result, the forest and shrubland cover have increased by about 15.59 and 19.21% from 1987 to 2021, respectively, whereas agricultural, residential, and water areas have increased (54.25%, 0.49%, and 0.27%, respectively, during 2022). The present study has shown that the application of the NDVI index and the use of geographic information system (GIS) software and teledetection sensors are credible approaches to studying and predicting the development of LULC.