Quantitative Estimation of Main Land Cover Patterns in an Arid Environmental Ecosystem Across Israel-Egypt Border Using Remote Sensing Data

The linear desert sand dunes stretching across the Israel-Egypt political border not only divides the region into two political regimes but also impacts on the evolution of vulnerable arid ecosystem along two opposite directions: sustainable development vs. increasing desertification. As a result, land cover structure of the region shows a great difference on both sides. Biogenic crust, bare sand, vegetation and playa have been commonly recognized as the main land cover patterns of the region. Three methods including field observation, measurement on aerial image and validation of vegetation cover on Landsat TM image have been employed to quantitatively estimate these land cover patterns. Accordingly, we estimate that, on average, desert vegetation covers ∼18% on the Israeli side and 4.5% on the Egyptian side, biogenic crust occupies ∼71% on the Israeli side and 12% on the Egyptian side, bare sand covers ∼7.5% on the Israeli side and 80% on the Egyptian side, and playa accounts for 3.5% on both sides. This estimate provides a basis to understand the great difference of arid ecosystem evolution on both sides of the border.