Mayar Rateb Ibrahim1*, Muna Barakat1, Mohammed Al-Abd2 and Ali Jawahra3
1 Soil and Land Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Tishreen University. Lattakia. Syria.
2 General Organization of Remote Sensing, Damascus, Syria.
3 General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research, Tartous, Syria.
(*Corresponding author: Mayar Rateb Ibrahim, Email: mayar.rateb.ibrahim@gmail.com).
Received: 17/ 2/ 2026 Accepted: 21/ 6/ 2026
Abstract:
This research aimed to monitor and analyze the spatial and temporal changes in land cover, particularly vegetation cover, in the basin of Al-Mazyneh Dam in Homs over a twenty-year period (2003-2023), with a focus on the last decade (2013-2023). The research relied on Geographic Information Systems (GIS), remote sensing (rs), and quantitative statistical analysis. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was calculated from satellite imagery, and three analytical methodologies were applied: analyzing the quantitative annual change in vegetation cover between the years (2012 and 2023), tracking long term changes in land cover between key time points (2003, 2013, 2023), and detecting detailed dynamics and transformations in land use using supervised classification for the years (2003 and 2023) with field verification. The results showed an increase in vegetation cover area from 7.7% of the basin’s area in 2003 to 66% in 2023. Climate factors led to clear annual fluctuations, with the vegetation cover percentage ranging between 35.9% in 2016 and 87% in 2021. The human factor emerged as a key driver of change according to the supervised classification results, with large portions of uncultivated and forested lands being converted into agricultural fields, accompanied by urban expansion. Terrain factors also contributed to limiting changes, as the covers of elevated areas remained more stable.
Keywords: Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Remote Sensing, Geographic Information Systems, Supervised Classification, Al-Mazina Dam, Vegetation Cover.
Full paper in Arabic: PDF