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THE USE OF GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

SYSTEMS AND REMOTE SENSING TECHNOLOGIES
IN COMBATING DESERTIFICATION AND EROSION

Mustafa SERT - Abdullah Emin AKAY - Ayhan ATEŞOĞLU

ABSTRACT
The rapidly developing industry, improper land use, and disproportionate
urban growth lead to the excessive depletion of natural resources and
various environmental problems. The loss of land cover significantly impacts
desertification and erosion, affects ecosystem service provision, causes
ecological migrations, loses biodiversity, and impacts food security. Every
year, 20 million hectares of arable land are degraded globally, 24 billion tons
are affected by erosion, and 70% of arid areas are at risk of desertification. In
Türkiye, 642 million tons of soil have been displaced due to water erosion, and
22.5% of this area is highly sensitive to desertification. Identifying the sources
and severity of these problems is crucial for future actions and planning. With
advancements in technology, high-resolution satellite imagery and various
software like ArcGIS, Netcad, QGIS, etc., that aid in their analysis have emerged
and developed. Alongside these developments, methods and indices that
facilitate surface and land cover analysis, such as Revised Universal Soil Loss
Equation (RUSLE), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI, Bare Soil
Index (BSI), Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI), and Topsoil Grain Size Index
(TGSI) have been developed. In recent years, artificial intelligence algorithms
have begun to be integrated into these methods. This study examines the use
of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing technologies in
combating desertification and erosion from the past to the present.

Keywords: Soil, Erosion, Desertification, GIS, Remote Sensing

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