Transformation of rural landscapes in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta from 1990 to 2019: a spatio-temporal analysis. Issue 26 (13th December 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Nguyen, Ho; Trung, Ta Hoang; Phan, Duong Cao; Anh Tran, Thong; Thi Hai Ly, Nguyen; Nasahara, Kenlo Nishida; Prishchepov, Alexander V.; Hölzel, Norbert
• Is Part Of: Geocarto international. Volume 37:Issue 26(2023)
• Page Start: 13881
• Page End: 13903
• Publication Date: 2022-12-13
• Subjects: Land cover change -- Landsat imagery -- landscape change -- wetland loss -- land use policy -- Mekong Delta; Remote sensing -- Periodicals; Geographic information systems -- Periodicals; Geology -- Periodicals; Cartography -- Periodicals; 621.3678
• DOI: 10.1080/10106049.2022.2086623
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1010-6049

Abstract

Abstract: In this study, we aimed to explore the rural landscape transformation through the analysis of land use/land cover (LULC) spatio-temporal dynamics in the entire Vietnamese Mekong Delta over the three decades, using Landsat imageries and a supervised random forest classifier. Results indicated that in the 1990s, dominant LULC types were arable cropland, wetland, and permanent crops, which covered approximately half of the delta, 28% and 8%, respectively. From 1990 to 2019, the wetland area decreased from 28% to 5% due to the expansion of aquaculture and the arable cropland. The aquaculture, however, expanded more rapidly than other land use conversions, namely, from 2% to 19%. Although mangrove forests slightly recovered by 58 km 2 from 2005 to 2019, the overall trend (1990-2019) showed an intense loss of 740 km 2 due to widespread conversions into aquaculture. The paper unravels the complex dynamics between land-cover change, socio-economic development and associated land-use policies, which have significant implications for the change in rural landscapes.