Contribution of a Multitemporal Study Using Landsat Satellite Data in Land Cover Mapping of the Region of Bir El Djir in Oran, Algeria

Algeria is a fast-developing country, whose economy and population are in constant growth. The changes are especially apparent in its urban and vegetation landscapes. The aim of this study is to map the spatio-temporal evolution of land cover in the region of Bir El Djir situated in Oran, Algeria. Knowing that the city of Oran is considered one of the biggest in the country. The proposed methodology relies on a pair of remote sensing data (Landsat TM and OLI TIRS images) acquired in 1987 and 2014 extending over a 27-year period. A diachronic analysis of these images was carried out on the basis of a supervised classification using a colored composition for class discrimination. The overall accuracy of the obtained classification results is equal to 93.15% and 90.60% for 1987 and 2014 respectively. The high quality obtained classes highlight with a good precision the dynamic changes within the area of study. As a result, we were able to establish that the dynamic change in land covers within Bir El Djir is closely related to the remoteness from the city center and main roads.