Land use/land cover change detection in desert wetlands: a case study of Chott Ain El Beida, Algeria

Wetlands are vital for ecological balance in Saharan regions facing rapid transformations due to human pressures and natural phenomena. This study quantified the spatiotemporal dynamics of Chott Ain El Beida, a Ramsar wetland, from 1995 to 2020 using Google Earth Engine and Landsat imagery. A Random Forest classification applied to six land-cover classes achieved high accuracy (93–96%; Kappa > 0.91). Results reveal significant landscape transformation: wetland vegetation declined by 26.4%, urban land more than doubled from 11.52 to 26.48 km2, and agricultural land increased from 7.40 to 8.63 km2. Water bodies expanded from 0.58 to 1.62 km2, sustained by agricultural return flows. Overall, wetland extent decreased by 14.9%. Change matrices identified urbanisation and agricultural expansion as dominant drivers. All in all, the findings underscore an urgent need for integrated management to protect this Saharan ecosystem amid development pressures, balancing conservation with socio-economic demands in arid regions.