Spatiotemporal Assessment of Land Use Land Cover Change Detection and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index in Desert Area

This study examines the spatiotemporal changes in land use land cover (LULC) from 1990 to 2023 in the Islamkot subdistrict of Tharparkar, Pakistan, an area known for its vast coal reserves and environmental challenges. A change detection analysis was performed using the maximum likelihood supervised classification method, and a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) analysis was conducted to evaluate vegetation variations. The findings indicate significant changes in land cover patterns: settlement, vegetation, water bodies, and mining areas increased by approximately 3.02%, 20.2%, 3.8%, and 0.9%, respectively, while bare land decreased by 27.9%. The primary drivers of these changes were identified as mining activities and precipitation variations. These results provide a foundation for informed land use planning , conservation efforts, and regional sustainable development strategies.