Remote sensing for ecological status assessment of agricultural landscapes in the Surkhandarya Terrestrial Basin, Uzbekistan

In Central Asia, land degradation is becoming a bigger problem, particularly in agricultural areas that are susceptible to climate change and irresponsible land usage. This study evaluates the ecological state of the Surkhandarya Terrestrial Basin in Uzbekistan over the previous 20 years (2000–2020) using remote sensing and GIS-based techniques. Land use and land cover (LULC) changes, vegetation degradation, and ecological risk zones were identified by analyzing multitemporal satellite photos from Landsat 8 OLI and Sentinel-2 MSI. The findings indicate that natural grasslands and woods have been mostly replaced by agricultural land, and the number of dry and bare areas has grown, hastening land degradation. The NDVI data’s spatial analysis revealed a steady deterioration in the health of the vegetation, particularly in the northern and eastern The vegetation health gradually declined, particularly in the northern and eastern regions, according to a spatial analysis of the NDVI data. High-risk areas were found in the eastern and southern regions of the basin, where deforestation and intensified agriculture have raised ecological vulnerability, according to an ecological risk assessment. The results emphasize the critical necessity for sustainable land management techniques, such as afforestation, effective irrigation, and soil conservation techniques, as well as the use of remote sensing for long-term environmental monitoring.