Mapping and Characterization of Agricultural Systems from Time Series of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) in the Northeast Area of Tadla, Morocco

Abstract

Introduction: Agriculture is the focus of sustainable development and food security in Morocco, contributing 14% to the national economy and its socio-economic impact depends on agro-climatic conditions and the availability of water resources. The objective of this work is to demonstrate that agriculture in Morocco, and especially in the Tadla region, is distributed according to the availability of underground water. Method: This work was carried out in the transition zone between the phosphate plateau and the plain of Tadla, a site of more than 124,000 ha. To achieve the objectives set, we used Landsat-8 OLI (Operational Land Imager) data sharpened to 15 m. The Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifications were applied to the 10-period Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) series. Results: It is shown that agriculture in Morocco is highly dependent on irrigation. In the classified map, it can be observed that the southern region, a zone with a semi-arid climate, which generally relies on irrigation, is very developed in agriculture, whereas in the north most of the soil is bared with cereals that mainly depend on rainfall. Conclusion: The possible water shortage in the region puts food availability in Morocco at risk of inadequacy. Food security depends on the availability of water, a natural resource at risk of extinction. Therefore, strategies to reduce the risk of agricultural drought must be at the forefront of Moroccan policies.