he year 
ind the 
(Sa'ata 
'S were 
tivated 
ie total 
change 
period 
For the 
g these 
low: 
ial 
ages of 
Abdalla Fadl Elmula, Isam Eldin 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Range of | Cult. area | Cult. Cult. areain | No. of | Amount of | Annual % of annual 
time in 1958 Area in | 1985 years change (hect.) | change change 
(hect.) 1972 (hect.) (hect.) 
(hect.) 
1958- 39409.17 | 57180.26 14 17771.09 1269.36 | 0.8% 
1972 
1972- 57180.26 99919.21 13 42738.95 3287.61 | 2.06% 
1985 
Table 8: Annual change of the destructed area at Abu Ku' area 
Range of | Cult. area | Cult. Cult.areain | No. of | Amount of | Annual % of annual 
time in 1958 Area in | 1985 years change change change 
(hect.) 1972 (hect.) (hect.) (hect.) 
(hect.) 
1958- 13148.86 | 4628.83 14 8520.03 608.57 0.41% 
1972 
1972- 4628.83 139591 13 9330.27 717,71 0.48% 
1985 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Table 9: Annual change of the destructed area at Addibeibat area 
5, Conclusion: 
By taking the averages of the percentages of change over the four training areas, it is found that the average percentage 
of annual change is 0.43% in the period 1958- 1972, and about 1.41% in the period 1972- 1985. 
Tables 6, 7, & 8 showed an increase in the annual destructed area over the period of comparison in the first three 
training areas namely: Sa'ata Ezzarqa, Hillat Sa'id, and Abu Ku). 
In the fourth training area (Addibeibat): table 9, different results were recorded. In this area the amount of the 
destruction was noticed to be 13148.96 hectares in the year 1958. This amount was decreased to 4628.83 hectares in the 
year 1972, and again it has increased to about 13959.1 hectares in the year 1985 (which is the year of the severe 
drought). The field check has shown that this area lies in the south part of the railroad (Obeid- Errahad- Abu Zabad- 
Nyala). This area is covered with dense vegetation; the main species of it is the Acacia melliphra species, which 
constitutes a large shelter-belt. The root system of this tree species constructs a very consolidated soil that can hardly be 
dissected or blurred by the wind or the other agents. Also the area has got a large system of drainage (streams and 
Khors). This drainage system do capture the amounts of waters for a long season, which will in turn keep the vegetation 
cover more green and dense, a condition that makes it hard enough to be removed or blurred by the farmers. Also the 
rainfall in this part of the study area is better than that of the northern and western parts, where the other training areas 
lie. 
The study provided a rich information about the land use/land cover change that happened in the study area. It provided 
an excellent technical assistance for combating the desertification phenomenon and the declining soil productivity in the 
area. The conclusion drawn have shown the dynamics of the landscape change in the area and clearly revealed the need 
for sustainable use of the land in the future. This could be easily achieved by integrating 
Landsat data with GIS. 
  
International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXIII, Part B7. Amsterdam 2000. 17