Analysis and Monitoring of Changes in the Central Marshland Area of Southern Iraq Utilizing Remote Sensing Techniques

Authors

  • Emad Ali Al-Helaly

    Faculty of Engineering, University of Kufa, Al-Najaf 54001, Iraq
  • Israa J. Muhsin

    Department of Remote Sensing and GIS, College of Science, Baghdad 10001, Iraq
  • Ebtesam F. Khanjer

    Department of Remote Sensing and GIS, College of Science, Baghdad 10001, Iraq
  • Ban A. Alrazaq

    Department of Remote Sensing and GIS, College of Science, Baghdad 10001, Iraq
  • Sundus A. Abdullah Albakry

    Department of Remote Sensing and GIS, College of Science, Baghdad 10001, Iraq

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30564/re.v7i3.9866
Received: 12 June 2025 | Revised: 16 June 2025 | Accepted: 25 June 2025 | Published Online: 19 August 2025

Abstract

The marshes of southern Iraq are of great value due to their roles in the economy, environment, heritage, tourism, and agriculture. However, the region has witnessed remarkable transformations in land cover, influenced by human interventions and natural environmental factors. In this research, the Central Marshlands were selected for study and monitoring. These Marshes form the Mesopotamian Marshes, a vital part of the Tigris-Euphrates river system. This area formerly covered an area of approximately 3,000 km2 and was once home to the lives of Marsh Arabs and their animals. The primary objective of this study was to compile a set of satellite images covering the same marshland region over several decades. The data used includes images captured by various Landsat missions: MSS (1975), TM (1983 & 1993), ETM+ (2003), and the Operational Land Imager (OLI) from Landsat 8 (2015). Satellite images were combined and pre-processed through steps such as layer stacking to create composite images from multiple bands. Several image classification methods were applied, and the classification results showed a significant and unprecedented increase in the percentage of water in the marsh, reaching 16% in 2003. This was combined with vegetation identification techniques, including the identification of vegetation boundaries to detect areas of dense vegetation. In addition, the relative depth of the water was measured to estimate marsh water levels, with the best result obtained in 2003. The normalized mean vegetation index (NDVI) calculated in this study had its best value in 1984 due to the spread of reeds and papyrus during this period. Papyrus is the raw material in the sugar industry, providing a significant economic boost.

Keywords:

Marshland; Image Classification; NDVI; Vegetation Delineation; Relative Water Depth

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How to Cite

Al-Helaly, E. A., Muhsin, I. J., Khanjer, E. F., Alrazaq, B. A., & Abdullah Albakry, S. A. (2025). Analysis and Monitoring of Changes in the Central Marshland Area of Southern Iraq Utilizing Remote Sensing Techniques. Research in Ecology, 7(3), 296–308. https://doi.org/10.30564/re.v7i3.9866

Issue

Vol. 7, Iss. 3 (August 2025)(in progress)

Article Type

Article

License

Copyright © 2025 Emad Ali Al-Helaly, Israa J. Muhsin, Ebtesam F. Khanjer, Ban A. Alrazaq, Sundus A. Abdullah Albakry

Creative Commons License

This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.

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