Land Use Changes after the Construction of the Xesalalong Reservoir: A Case Study of Three Villages in Thapangthong District, Savannakhet Province, Lao PDR
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Abstract
This study analyzed land use changes in three villages: Thongpang, Maiphosi, and Kouthi in Thapangthong District, Savannakhet Province, Lao PDR, following the construction of the Xesalalong Reservoir. Land use was classified into six categories: agricultural land (paddy fields and other agricultural land), water area, forest land, built-up land, roads, and cultural land, using Google Earth imagery combined with GIS analysis and field surveys. The total study area covered 6,653 ha. Between 2014 and 2024, agricultural land expanded substantially by 947.94 ha (+14.25%), driven primarily by paddy field expansion (+875.51 ha, +13.16%), which was the dominant form of land use change. Water area grew by 200.02 ha (+3.01%), built-up land by 40.36 ha (+0.61%), and cultural land by 7.74 ha (+0.12%). In contrast, forest land declined substantially by 1,193.65 ha (-17.94%), while roads decreased slightly by 2.41 ha (-0.04%). The overall classification accuracy was 81.5% with a Kappa coefficient of 0.76. The annual change rate indicated agricultural land expansion at +1.42% per year, contrasted with forest loss at –1.79% per year. These results demonstrate that reservoir construction and water management facilitated agricultural expansion, particularly paddy cultivation, while reducing forest cover. The findings highlight trade-offs between human land use and natural ecosystems and provide spatial evidence to support sustainable land and water management planning in rural Lao communities.
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