M. Camara; N.R.B. Jamil; A.F.B. Abdullah; R.B. Hashim
Abstract
Predicting land use change is an indispensable aspect in identifying the best development and management of land resources and their potential. This study used certified land-use maps of 1997, 2006, and 2015 combined with ancillary data such as road networks, water bodies and slopes, obtained from the ...
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Predicting land use change is an indispensable aspect in identifying the best development and management of land resources and their potential. This study used certified land-use maps of 1997, 2006, and 2015 combined with ancillary data such as road networks, water bodies and slopes, obtained from the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Surveying and Mapping in Malaysia, respectively. The prediction of future land use changes in the Selangor River basin in Malaysia was performed using the Cellular Automata Markov model. The transition probability matrices were computed using the land use conditions of the periods 1997-2006, 2006-2015, 1997-2015. The performance of the model was very good in its overall ability to simulate the actual land use map of 2015, with the index values of 0.92% and 0.97%, respectively for Kappa for no information and Kappa for grid-cell level location which indicated the reliability of the model to successfully simulate land use changes in 2024 and 2033. Based on the expected results, the future urban area will grow faster (33%) over the next two decades, leading to a decline in forest area that is expected to lose 8% of its total space during these periods. Agricultural land will increase to 4%, while water bodies will change slightly increasing to 1%, and other areas of land use will likely become reservoirs of water, topsoil or new green spaces shrinking at 30%. Given the importance of knowledge of future land use in addressing the problems of uncontrolled development on environmental quality, this study could be valuable for land use planners of the river basin largely covered by natural forest. The study however, suggests future research to integrate geospatial techniques with biophysical and socio-economic factors in simulating land use trends.
M. Camara; N.R.B. Jamil; F.B. Abdullah
Abstract
Rapid development and population growth have resulted in an ever-increasing level of water pollution in Malaysia. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess water quality of Selangor River in Malaysia. The data collected under the river water quality monitoring program by the Department of environment ...
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Rapid development and population growth have resulted in an ever-increasing level of water pollution in Malaysia. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess water quality of Selangor River in Malaysia. The data collected under the river water quality monitoring program by the Department of environment from 2005 to 2015 were used for statistical analyses. The local water quality indices were computed and a trend detection technique and cluster analysis were applied, respectively, to detect changes and spatial disparity in water quality trends. The results showed that the river water is of good quality at all stations, with the exception of 1SR01 and 1SR09 located upstream, which recorded moderate water quality indices of 68 and 71, respectively. The results of trend analysis showed downward trends in dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand and ammonia nitrogen, for most water quality stations, as well as increasing trends in chemical oxygen, suspended solids, pH and temperature for most stations. In addition, the results of cluster and time series analyses showed that the trend variation in dissolved oxygen, pH, and temperature between the station clusters is relatively low as compared to chemical oxygen demand, biochemical oxygen demand, suspended solids, and ammonia nitrogen. With the peak concentration of 13 mg/L for dissolved oxygen observed in cluster 2 in 2014, and the highest decrease in suspended solids (8 mg/L) observed in cluster 1 for 2015. This finding demonstrates that these combined statistical analyses can be a useful approach for assessing water quality for adequate management of water resources.