To investigate and assess the effects of land use and land cover (LULC) on concentrations of heavy metals in the surface soils of Lesser Zab River Basin (LZRB), 25 surface soil samples were taken from different LULC classes. Heavy metals concentrations were measured and their enrichment factors were calculated. Most of the LZRB soil samples are moderately alkaline with pH>8 and characterized by low organic content. The average abundance of the major oxides follow the decreasing order of SiO2 % > CaO % > Al2O3 % > Fe2O3 %> MgO > K2O % > TiO2 % > Na2O % > SO3 % > P2O5 %. A correlation matrix revealed that clay and feldspar minerals, Fe and Mn oxides / hydroxides are the most important carrier phase for several

The emergence of oil fields and subsequent changes in adjacent land use are known to affect settlements and communities. Everywhere the industry emerges, there is little understanding about the impact of oil fields on land use in the surrounding areas. The oil industry in Iraq is one of the most important industries and is almost the main industry in the Iraqi economic sector, and it is very clear that this industry is spread over large areas, and at the same time adjoins with population communities linked to it developmentally.

The rapid development and expansion of oil extraction activities in various regions has led to many challenges related to land-use planning and management. Here, the problem of research  arises on th

In the current study, remote sensing techniques and geographic information systems were used to detect changes in land use / land cover (LULC) in the city of Al Hillah, central Iraq for the period from 1990 - 2022. Landsat 5 TM and Landsat 8 OLI visualizations, correction and georeferencing of satellite visuals were used. And then make the necessary classifications to show the changes in LULC in the city of Al Hillah. Through the study, the results showed that there is a clear expansion in the urban area from 20.5 km2 in 1990 to about 57 km2 in 2022. On the other hand, the results showed that there is a slight increase in agricultural areas and water. While the arid (empty) area decreased from 168.7 km 2 to 122 km 2 in 2022. Long-term ur

The role of the green areas lies in being one of the systems that plays the vital role in achieving the environmental dimension besides the socio-cultural body and the economic dimension in the hidden value of ecosystem services. However, many developing countries are characterized by a state of low community environmental awareness, which coincides with the basic need for land for housing and other uses, to take precedence over nature protection strategies. In the absence of clear planning and long-term planning strategies, all this led to abuses and violations of urban land use. In Iraq, the situation became more apparent due to the political, security and social conditions that followed the year 2003. Hence, the resea

    Land forms are result from interaction between lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere. Lithosphere composed of lithologic units and the main units of the study area are: limestone, marl, marley limestone, sandstone, pebbly sandstone, mudstone, claystone and secondary gypsum in addition to Quaternary sediments. Landforms of the study area can be subdivided according to their origin into many units: 1- Structural- denudational: plateau, mesas, hills, cliffs and wadis; 2- Denudational: desert pavement and mushroom rock; 3-Mass movements; 4- Solution: lake, salt marsh, piping caves; 5- Springs; 6- Fluvial: terraces, alluvial fan, infilled wadi, flood plain; 7- Drainage units; 8-Evaporational: sabkha, secondary

     The Land Use/ Land Cover (LULC) is an essential application in many remotely sensed projects and problems. Land use is simply man-made objects such as urban, road complex targets, etc., while land covers are defined as any target and phenomenon that appear neutral. The LULC study is essential for all current and future engineering projects, as it shows the nature of the land's components, which is evident in studying and modernizing residential areas. One of the essential operations for studying LULC is the heterogeneity detection and classification calculations of satellite images and topographic maps. A part of the Baghdad, Iraq region was selected for the Landsat satellite group at different periods to detect variance and mak

The purpose of this study is to describe the extent and nature of informal tenure practices in urban areas in Iraq, through undertaking a rapid assessment in Baghdad city. The UN-HABITAT 2008 publication Secure Land Rights for All discusses the importance of access and rights to land throughout the developing world. Secure land rights are critical to development and poverty reduction, and the greatest challenge in providing secure land rights are in urban areas, where overcrowding can lead to a number of informal tenure practices ranging from individually unregistered or unauthorised housing, to large informal settlements. Access to land is a fundamental basis for human shelter, food production, and other economic activity. Secur

This study is an approach to assign the land area of  Kirkuk city [ a city located in the northern of Iraq, 236 kilometers north of  Baghdad  and 83 kilometers  south of  Erbil [ Climatic atlas of  Iraq, 1941-1970  ]  into different  multi zones by using Satellite image and Arc Map10.3,  zones of different traffic noise pollutions. Land zonings process like what achieved in this paper will help and of it’s of a high interest point for the future of Kirkuk city especially urban

The study area lies in the northern part of Iraq, This study depends on one scene of Thematic Mapper (TM5) data of Landsat, these data are subset by using region of interest (ROI) file within the ERDAS 9.2 software. RS and GIS have been used as tools for detecting the desertification during the periods 1990-2000-2009 by using Normalized Difference Vegetation Index NDVI, Water Index WI and Barren Land Index BLI. The indicators of Desertification which used in this study for period  1990-2000 and 2000-2009 are represented by decrease the vegetation cover and increase water body and barren land.