Monitoring of Wetlands by Using Multitemporal Landsat Data; A Case Study from Fethiye – Turkey

Abstract

In the last two decades, tourism has led to a drastic conversion of the wetlands into settlement areas in the surroundings of Fethiye town located in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. The coast of Fethiye Bay abounds in coastal wetlands, riparian corridors, marshes, forested wetlands, swamps and grasslands that need urgent conservation. In addition to tourism activities, pollution resulting from residential and agricultural areas, urbanization, and other activities are threatening the wetland ecosystems in the area. The transformation of wetlands has resulted in a loss of biodiversity. The wildlife, notably many water birds are under a threat of extinction. These biotopes need to be monitored at short time intervals, as changes in the wetlands are rapid and serious due to these factors. Accurate and timely information will play a vital role in supporting decision making and effective sustainable management of these wetlands. In this connection the ground based survey for monitoring purpose is not entirely well-suited because of transportation difficulties as well as the working conditions. On the other hand, satellite data can provide an effective tool for mapping and monitoring of these areas. While high resolution satellite imageries including Ikonos and Quickbird generally provide detailed vegetation mapping, medium resolution satellite imageries including Landsat and Spot have been widely used for detecting the changes during definite time intervals. The aim of this study is to detect the changes in the wetlands between 1990–2001 along the coast of Fethiye and its inland parts by means of multitemporal Landsat data.