Investigation soil degradation in Iraq by using geomatics techniques

Abstract In this study Remote Sensing techniques have been used to investigate soil degradation in Iraq (alluvial plain) for the period (1976 - 2020) by using different many source of data such as satellite images (Landsat 1-5 MSS C1 Level, Landsat 4-5 TM C1 Level-1, Landsat 7, Landsat 8, and sentinel 2) and use more than one software like (ENVI 5.3, ERDAS Imagine 2015, Arc GIS 10.7, and Blender). This study focusing on determine the main degraded areas in Iraq, (alluvial plain) chosen because of spread sand dunes. To make the study soberer, ground trothing achieved to verify the real status of the area and collect the data by field visit. Bands G, B, R, and IR from LANDSAT-3 in 1976, 1996 and 2014, the same bands used from Sentinel-2 dated 2021. Unsupervised classification made for images of 1976 and 1996 then supervised classification did for images in 2014 and 2021. The classification was carried out using ERDAS Imagine V.2015 software and areas of the main land uses in the study area were calculated. The results indicate that there is a big problem in the base year 1976, this problem almost disappeared in the second station of work 1996, but it returned back after that through the results for the years 2014 and 2021.