Wael EL ZEREY
Associate Professor, Djillali Liabes University, Algeria
Title: The use of remote sensing and GIS for monitoring and analysis of desertification in Algerian territory
Biography
Biography: Wael EL ZEREY
Abstract
The desertification results from an imbalance in the dynamic interactions between the four elements of the ecosystem (climate, soil, vegetation, human beings). It is then a state which settles under the combined effects of the climatic modifications and the human activities applied to fragile soil and vegetation. The current vegetation all over the world is the complex result of interactions between flora, climate, and soil conditions. According to the different studies of desertification phenomena in North Africa, the most significant indicators are the biophysical ones like the state of vegetation cover and the state of landscape Combating desertification gives a priority to the execution of preventive measures in favour of the not yet degraded regions. This step remains however dependent on precise and reliable information in the time and space on the situation and the evolution of desertification. remote sensing technology and geographical information systems can play a great role in land desertification investigation, monitoring land changes, and as a tool for regional planning. If the multi-temporal remote sensing data at optimum season are acquired, it is possible to establish a desertification analysis model to study the cause of land desertification and predict the tendency of its expansion quantitatively. The remote sensing is also a powerful tool to follow the state of landscape and its the relationship with the distribution of the water resources. The synthesis of the totality of results under a geographical information system GIS as well as their confrontation with others types of data can allow the mapping of the desertification risk