Evaluating the effect of land use land cover changes on soil moisture index and vegetation indices using multi-spectral satellite dataEvaluating the effect of land use land coverM. Z. Arshad et al.

Human activity causes changes in land use and land cover (LULC), which restricts the availability of goods and services for both people and animals. This study aimed to determine the spatiotemporal fluctuations in LULC, vegetation cover, and moisture index through multi-temporal satellite images from the district of Rahimyar Khan, Pakistan. Satellite data analysis was carried out using ArcGIS 10.7. The supervised classification was used to accomplish the LULC classes. This method changed, based on ground-truthing. Consistent with the LULC change study between 2000 and 2020, 7.59% of bare soil was transformed into vegetation and other areas, and vegetative area was increased by 6.97% in the study area region. For 2000, 2010, and 2020, the average NDVI values were determined to be 0.17, 0.21, and –0.038, respectively. The common NDMI values for 2000, 2010, and 2020 for the region looked at were 0.48, 0.38, and 0.25, respectively. Our studies suggest that, as build-up areas rise, Rahimyar Khan tends to an increase in vegetation, moisture index, and water bodies. For planners and policy makers, estimations of the environmental effect and tests of LULC and NDMI modifications are of great significance.