Land cover reflectance of Iraqi marshlands based on visible spectral multiband of satellite imagery

Iraqi marshlands, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and critical biodiversity refuge, have undergone dramatic changes over 48 years (1972–2020), with their water surface nearly doubling from its lowest point in 2000. This study reveals that supervised classification of satellite imagery—using Landsat MSS, TM, ETM+, and OLI/TIRS data—is the most cost-effective method for detecting environmental shifts such as water loss, vegetation cover, and desertification. While the marshes shrank to just 432 km² by 2000 due to desiccation, they rebounded to 4,335 km² by 2020, with notable declines in 2015 and 2018. The average water surface increased from 1,877 km² in the first stage (1972–2000) to 2,012 km² in the second (2000–2020), highlighting both recovery efforts and ongoing vulnerabilities.

Hason, M. M., Abbood, I. S., & Odaa, S. a. (2020). Land cover reflectance of Iraqi marshlands based on visible spectral multiband of satellite imagery. Results in Engineering, 8, 100167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rineng.2020.100167