Results and discussion
3.1. The spatial patterns of LULC
LANDSAT TM data were used for the analysis of LULC. With the
aid of ground truth data throughout the calibration and validation
stages, the findings clearly indicate that LULC can be classified
into 7 categories including farmland, grassland, woodland, water
bodies, beach land, build-up land and saline-alkali land. Fig. 4 features
the side-by-side comparison of the spatial variations of LULC
two decades apart. Four dominant types of LULC in the study area