STUDY OF THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE ELEMENTS ON FOREST TREES IN NORTHERN IRAQ (DOHUK GOVERNORATE)

Abstract

Forests of various types are spread in the northern regions of Iraq. Iraq has witnessed rapid events over the past years, which led to their deterioration, and we have lost thousands of hectares, due to the mismanagement of the natural forests and the effects of climate change, including water scarcity, drought, and the frequent occurrence of sand and dust storms. Many studies and researches in the world have proven the possibility of using geospatial techniques to estimate cases of decline and change in vegetation covers based on what is known as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). This research reflects the process of collecting data using modern scientific techniques such as geographic information systems and remote sensing integrated with mathematical statistics and climate data. The study sites (Atrosh - Sarsink - Dohuk Dam) located in northern Iraq are among the agricultural and pastoral areas intertwined with forests. The study included the use of Landsat satellite images captured during different years for the study areas for the purpose of calculating (NDVI) values and adopting them as an indicator of the density of vegetation cover (forests) in the studied areas after excluding other vegetation covers through seasonality and temporal tracking of land uses, where the relationship between climate factors represented by temperatures, rainfall and the normalized vegetation difference index (NDVI) was studied by calculating linear regression relationships. The results generally proved that climate had a slight effect on the studied sites and that human activity is directly responsible for the state of the forests in terms of their decline or recovery