Assessment of the Impact of the Syrian Conflict on the Extent and Quality of Agricultural Land in the Sabkhat al-Jabbul Area (SJA)

Most of Syria, including the Sabkhat al-Jabbul Area (SJA) experienced significant socio-ecological disruptions over the 2011 to 2021 period due to armed conflict in the region. This study examines the impacts of the armed conflict on the extent and the quality of agricultural lands in the SJA. Landsat imagery and unsupervised image classification were used to assess land use and land cover (LULC) change between three target years 2008, 2016, and 2020, which span the course of the conflict. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and multiple salinity indices were calculated and used to assess changes in vegetation and soil health, respectively. The change analysis revealed that the area of bare soil increased dramatically over the 12-year study period and the area of irrigated farmland decreased.