Monitoring of Moisture and Temperature Regime on Agricultural Land Parcels Using Landsat-8 Remote Sensing Data in the Mardin Province, Türkiye

Abstract

The Southeastern Anatolia Region of T & uuml;rkiye is the most underdeveloped region of the country in terms of economic and social structure. Due to insufficient water and infrastructure facilities, effective and beneficial agricultural activities could not be carried out sufficiently in the region. The Southeastern Anatolia Project (G & uuml;neydo & gbreve;u Anadolu Projesi, GAP) project was put into operation by the state in the past to ensure development in the region and to deliver the necessary resources to the region. The GAP project also aims to increase agricultural production by increasing irrigation opportunities for farmers in the region. Considering the arid climatic conditions of the region and the insufficiency of water resources, it is important to examine the relationship between humidity, moisture, and temperature in agricultural parcels over many years because moisture in soil and vegetation plays a crucial role in soil degradation and soil salinity under drought climate conditions. Thus, the moisture and surface temperature regime of agricultural land parcels were investigated by evaluating Landsat-8 remote sensing satellite images from 2013 to 2021, excluding 2016, in the Mardin Province, T & uuml;rkiye. Spectral remote sensing indices were calculated to find relationships between vegetation density, moisture, and surface temperature on agricultural land parcels. According to the study results, the higher mean land surface temperature values >= 29 degrees C are observed with the lower vegetation density <= 0.68 in agricultural land parcels in 2020 and 2021 than in other years. In addition, average soil and plant moisture show that there are decreases in 2020 and 2021 as the years progress in the region, and with these decreases, the mean plant moisture was found to be 0.30 for the year 2021, which appears to be drier than in the past. Considering the insufficient irrigation and climate change in the region, which has an increasing trend with global warming, the results of the study show the existence of drought and water need for agriculture.