Analysis of LULC (Landuse/Landcover) Characteristics of Tekirdag Province based on the CORINE System

Abstract

Detection and monitoring of the LULC (Landuse/Landcover) characteristics can provide more effective and sustainable land management. One of the most commonly applied systems in LULC is the CORINE (Coordination of Information on the Environment) system. This system, which has been in use across the EU (European Union) countries, has lately been adopted by Turkey, which has made a notable progress towards becoming an EU member in recent years. The most important characteristic of the CORINE system is that the GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and RS (Remote Sensing) techniques are used during its application. This study aimed to detect the changes that occurred at LULC classes in Tekirdag province, which were specified according to the CORINE system. In this study, we examined changes that occurred in 15 years (2000-2015) along with their causes and effects. In this regard, we embarked on the following three fundamental attempts: (1) Detection of the changes that occurred at the LULC features of Tekirdag province between 2000 and 2015; (2) Elicitation of the causes and effects of these changes; and (3) Determination of predictions for the future. It was ultimately found that Tekirdag province has passed through a significant rate of LULC changes in the last 15 years. 29 different 3rd level CORINE classes were determined in the land. The most common land use class is the lands where dry forming is performed corresponding to the third level. LULC differentiation is observed in a total area of 14.8 km(2) in Tekirdag province. The most obvious differentiation occurs between discontinuous urban fabric and continuous urban fabric classes.