earticle

영어

This study assesses the spatiotemporal dynamics of land cover changes in the Upper Bago River Basin, Myanmar, from 1988 to 2025. Using supervised classification of Landsat imagery in Google Earth Engine (GEE), we categorized land cover into six classes: dense vegetation, sparse vegetation, agriculture, water, built-up areas, and bare land. Our preliminary findings show a significant decline in dense vegetation, from 1,831.09 km² in 1988 to 1,084.58 km² by 2025, indicating a 41% reduction over the study period. Sparse vegetation increased, particularly between 1995 and 2005, suggesting shifts in land use patterns. Agricultural land expanded slightly, with notable increases in built-up areas, particularly in urbanized regions. A slight decrease in overall vegetation cover, from 2,407.03 km² in 1988 to 2,250.06 km² in 2025, further highlights the ongoing transformation of the landscape, driven by both natural and anthropogenic factors. These results underscore the growing pressure on forest cover and the need for integrated land use planning to mitigate potential impacts on watershed hydrology and biodiversity in the region. The study provides critical insights for future land use modelling and policy development in Myanmar.