Impact of anthropogenic activities on natural vegetation cover of Aseer Region, Saudi Arabia

doi:10.21608/ejec.2021.149017

Impact of anthropogenic activities on natural vegetation cover of Aseer Region, Saudi Arabia

Document Type : Peer-reviewed articles

10.21608/ejec.2021.149017

Abstract

Aim: This study aims to monitor the degradation of natural vegetation cover (particularly in juniper trees’ ecosystem) in one of the richest areas of biological diversity in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia caused by intensive anthropogenic activities.
Location: Aseer area located in the southwestern part of Saudi Arabia, it extend between the latitudes of 17° 30ˊ: 21° N and the length of 41° 30ˊ: 44° 45ˊ with total area about 84,084 km².
Methods: Satellite images analysis were used to detect the changes in natural vegetation cover in the study area. These satellite images covering the period between 1980 and 2020.
Results: The total area covered with natural vegetation was 4385.6 km² in 1980; it deceased to 3645.5 km² according to the satellite image of 2020. Population growth and urban sprawl were the main factors causing the degradation of natural vegetation cover in this region.

Main Subjects

References

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