LAND USE AND LAND COVER SIMULATION BASED ON INTEGRATION OF ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS WITH CELLULAR AUTOMATA-MARKOV CHAIN MODELS APPLIED TO EL-FAYOUM GOVERNORATE

Abstract. The paper aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the multi-layer perceptron-Markov chain analysis (MLP-MCA) integrated method in predicting future Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) change scenarios in Fayoum due to rapid urbanization. The study employed machine learning algorithms for image classification using Google Earth Engine (GEE) for classification techniques to derive LULC maps from Landsat imagery taken in 2001, 2011, and 2021. The 2001 and 2011 LULC maps were used to predict the LULC scenario for 2021 using MLP-MCA, and the predicted result was validated against the observed 2021 LULC map using Area under the curve (AUC) that was derived from the Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC). Subsequently, the study predicted future LULC changes for 2031 using two sub-models; sub- Agri and sub-built. The results show that a rapid growth in both built and agricultural area. The findings of this study highlight the potential of the MLP-MCA method in predicting future LULC changes due to urbanization.