Monitoring of Urban Landscape Ecology Dynamics of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Pakistan, Over Four Decades (1976–2016)
In the late 1960s, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan’s capital shifted from Karachi to Islamabad, officially named Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT). In this aspect, the ICT is a young city, but undergoing rapid expansion and urbanization, especially in the last two decades. This study reports the me...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-04-01
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| Series: | Land |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/9/4/123 |
| _version_ | 1827718275610443776 |
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| author | Hammad Gilani Sohail Ahmad Waqas Ahmed Qazi Syed Muhammad Abubakar Murtaza Khalid |
| author_facet | Hammad Gilani Sohail Ahmad Waqas Ahmed Qazi Syed Muhammad Abubakar Murtaza Khalid |
| author_sort | Hammad Gilani |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the late 1960s, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan’s capital shifted from Karachi to Islamabad, officially named Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT). In this aspect, the ICT is a young city, but undergoing rapid expansion and urbanization, especially in the last two decades. This study reports the measurement and characterization of ICT land cover change dynamics using Landsat satellite imagery for the years 1976, 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2016. Annual rate of change, landscape metrics, and urban forest fragmentation spatiotemporal analyses have been carried out, along with the calculation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicator 11.3.1 Land Consumption Rate to the Population Growth Rate (LCRPGR). The results show consistent increase in the settlement class, with highest annual rate of 8.79% during 2000–2010. Tree cover >40% and <40% canopy decreased at an annual rate of 0.81% and 0.77% between 1976 to 2016, respectively. Forest fragmentation analysis reveals that ‘core forests of >500 acres’ class decreased from 392 km<sup>2</sup> (65.41%) to 241 km<sup>2</sup> (55%), and ‘patch forest’ class increased from 15 km<sup>2</sup> (2.46%) to 20 km<sup>2</sup> (4.54%), from 1976 to 2016. The LCRPGR ratio was 0.62 from 1976 to 2000, increasing to 1.36 from 2000 to 2016. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T20:19:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0cb1b63a19b741cd9e624431d9be89e0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-445X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T20:19:56Z |
| publishDate | 2020-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Land |
| spelling | doaj.art-0cb1b63a19b741cd9e624431d9be89e02023-11-19T22:12:33ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2020-04-019412310.3390/land9040123Monitoring of Urban Landscape Ecology Dynamics of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Pakistan, Over Four Decades (1976–2016)Hammad Gilani0Sohail Ahmad1Waqas Ahmed Qazi2Syed Muhammad Abubakar3Murtaza Khalid4Geospatial Research & Education Lab (GREL), Department of Space Science, Institute of Space Technology, Islamabad 44000, PakistanGeospatial Research & Education Lab (GREL), Department of Space Science, Institute of Space Technology, Islamabad 44000, PakistanGeospatial Research & Education Lab (GREL), Department of Space Science, Institute of Space Technology, Islamabad 44000, PakistanFreelance Journalist, Lahore 54000, PakistanGeospatial Research & Education Lab (GREL), Department of Space Science, Institute of Space Technology, Islamabad 44000, PakistanIn the late 1960s, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan’s capital shifted from Karachi to Islamabad, officially named Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT). In this aspect, the ICT is a young city, but undergoing rapid expansion and urbanization, especially in the last two decades. This study reports the measurement and characterization of ICT land cover change dynamics using Landsat satellite imagery for the years 1976, 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2016. Annual rate of change, landscape metrics, and urban forest fragmentation spatiotemporal analyses have been carried out, along with the calculation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicator 11.3.1 Land Consumption Rate to the Population Growth Rate (LCRPGR). The results show consistent increase in the settlement class, with highest annual rate of 8.79% during 2000–2010. Tree cover >40% and <40% canopy decreased at an annual rate of 0.81% and 0.77% between 1976 to 2016, respectively. Forest fragmentation analysis reveals that ‘core forests of >500 acres’ class decreased from 392 km<sup>2</sup> (65.41%) to 241 km<sup>2</sup> (55%), and ‘patch forest’ class increased from 15 km<sup>2</sup> (2.46%) to 20 km<sup>2</sup> (4.54%), from 1976 to 2016. The LCRPGR ratio was 0.62 from 1976 to 2000, increasing to 1.36 from 2000 to 2016.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/9/4/123forest fragmentationsustainable development goal (SDG)land consumption rate to the population growth rate (LCRPGR) |
| spellingShingle | Hammad Gilani Sohail Ahmad Waqas Ahmed Qazi Syed Muhammad Abubakar Murtaza Khalid Monitoring of Urban Landscape Ecology Dynamics of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Pakistan, Over Four Decades (1976–2016) Land forest fragmentation sustainable development goal (SDG) land consumption rate to the population growth rate (LCRPGR) |
| title | Monitoring of Urban Landscape Ecology Dynamics of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Pakistan, Over Four Decades (1976–2016) |
| title_full | Monitoring of Urban Landscape Ecology Dynamics of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Pakistan, Over Four Decades (1976–2016) |
| title_fullStr | Monitoring of Urban Landscape Ecology Dynamics of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Pakistan, Over Four Decades (1976–2016) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Monitoring of Urban Landscape Ecology Dynamics of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Pakistan, Over Four Decades (1976–2016) |
| title_short | Monitoring of Urban Landscape Ecology Dynamics of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Pakistan, Over Four Decades (1976–2016) |
| title_sort | monitoring of urban landscape ecology dynamics of islamabad capital territory ict pakistan over four decades 1976 2016 |
| topic | forest fragmentation sustainable development goal (SDG) land consumption rate to the population growth rate (LCRPGR) |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/9/4/123 |
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