Monitoring desertification in a Savannah region in Sudan using Landsat images and spectral mixture analysis
Two Landsat images, acquired in 1987 and 2008, were analyzed to evaluate desertification processes in central North Kurdufan State (Sudan). Spectral Mixture Analysis (SMA) and multitemporal comparison techniques (change vector analysis) were applied to estimate the long-term desertification/re-growing of vegetation cover over time and in space. Site-specific interactions between natural processes and human activity played a pivotal role in desertification. Over the last 21 years, desertification significantly prevailed over vegetation re-growth, particularly in areas around rural villages.