Land Use/Land Cover Change along the Coastline of La Union, Philippines

Abstract

With the hazards piling up on a global level, especially in the coastal areas, this study aims to employ remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) in assessing the Land Use/ Land Cover Change (LULCC) data of the coastal municipalities of La Union, Philippines. Through spatiotemporal maps along with computer-generated results, landscape changes were observed and assessed qualitatively (LULC) and quantitatively (accuracy assessments, change detection analysis) for analyzing LULCC. The occurrence of landscape fragmentation was observed across the five classes (water, urban, barren, vegetation, and agricultural land), particularly between urban, vegetation, and agricultural land, showing interrelationship with landscape stability and fluctuations across a three-decade period (1990-2021) with an accuracy assessment result of 60%- 94%. Significant changes across the three decades showed a decrease in vegetation, -15.32%, and an increase in the remaining four (water, urban, agricultural land, and barren) with +3.11%, +2.71%, +7.01%, and +2.48%, respectively. The result of the study highlighted the need for developing conservation measures crafted on sustainable land use policies and interventions for coastal resources management and shoreline protection.