Arazi Kullanım Deseninin Zamansal ve Mekansal Değişimi: Merkezefendi İlçesi (Denizli) Örneği

Abstract

Agricultural areas are under threat among various land use types because of the urban sprawl depending the increase of population density. Actually, it is clear that agricultural areas are the main subject of sustainable agriculture. These areas have been lost significantly due to differentiating factors such as as soil erosion, physical pressure originating from urbanization dynamics, etc. The principal reason for the loss of fertile agricultural areas is their use for non-agricultural purposes. Especially current agricultural areas in different abilities from I to III are affected primarily from the non-agricultural use of agricultural areas. The main purpose of study is to determine the spatiotemporal variations of current land use pattern using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) techniques in Merkezefendi district, Denizli. The satellite images presenting the spatial changes in land use patterns between the years 1985 - 2022 and also 1/25.000 scaled topographic maps are used. As a result, it is observed that the existing land use pattern have changed and non-agricultural uses in agricultural areas have increased significantly in the 40-years period. These uses have changed in accordance with urban plan decisions based on the site selection of industrial areas and main transport routes. The effects of urban sprawl on agricultural areas are evaluated in terms of urban planning discipline and important policies are developed in order to prevent the non-agricultural use of agricultural areas.