Determination of land cover/use change between 1984-2022: Pamukova (Sakarya) example

In this study, it was aimed to determine the land use characteristics and the change in land cover in Pamukova district between 1984 and 2022. For this purpose, problems in land use have been tried to be identified by the active use of Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques, and suggestions for ideal land use have been made, taking into account the land structure. Landsat TM dated 08.08.1984 and Landsat 8 (OLI/TIRS) satellite images dated 24.07.2022 were used in the study. The resulting satellite images were subjected to atmospheric correction in the SCP extension in QGIS 3.14. After this stage, the data was processed into the ArcGIS 10.8 program and then comparative land use/cover maps for the years 1984 and 2022 were produced and the changes over time were tried to be revealed quantitatively and spatially. Classification was performed on the images using the maximum likelihood algorithm. A supervised classification process was performed in which categorical pixels are represented by training examples. Google Earth and Corine maps were used in coordination to determine reference points. For each class, 100 sample points were randomly assigned and by comparing what these areas actually were, user and producer accuracy was determined and the Kappa index was obtained. As a result, it has been determined that there is land gain in semi-natural areas, artificial areas and water surfaces, while there is a decrease in the availability of agricultural and forest areas. In this context, what needs to be done for a planned, programmed and healthy land use that protects the natural environment, taking into account the dynamics of the region, is explained in an encouraging language.