Agricultural Land Cover Analysis of Baliuag Bulacan

Using Geographic Information System

A Research Presented to

The Faculty of Institute of Engineering and Applied Technology,

Bulacan Agricultural State College

An Undergraduate Research presented to

The Faculty, Institute of Engineering and Applied Technology

Bulacan Agricultural State College

Pinaod, San Ildefonso, Bulacan

In Partial Fulfillment

Of the Requirements for the Degree

Elective III

By

Acuzar, Jenka Reign T.

May 2019
 CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

Land use/land cover (LULC) changes are major issues of global environment

change. The satellite remote sensing data with their repetitive nature have proved to be

quite useful in mapping land use/land cover patterns and changes with time.

Quantification of such changes is possible through GIS techniques even if the resultant

spatial datasets are of different scales/ resolutions (Sarma et al., 2010).

In the last decades due to the continuing urbanization and industrialization of the

provinces nearby Metropolitan Manila and other cities of the Philippines have resulted to

the continual decline in productive agricultural land. This brought about by the massive

conversion of agricultural, commercial and residential purposes. Bulacan is one of the

provinces that are greatly affected by “too much” land reclassification and conversion in

the Philippines. Bulacan produces more than 60 percent of all vegetable, rice, meat and

fish being sold in all markets in Metro Manila.

Industrialization has often been nicknamed as “an engine of economic growth: for

nations and usually is an essential and desirable process that accelerates economic growth

and reduces long-run poverty (Azadi et al., 2011). Despite serving as “an engine of

economic growth”, rapid economic growth and a persistent increase in urban population,

trigger encroachments and urban sprawling (Jiang et al., 2012) that undermine

agricultural lands and agricultural activities. Numerous studies worldwide have shown

industrialization and urbanization as the major drivers of Agricultural Land Conversion

China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, India, and Spain (Azadi et al., 2011b; Paul and

McKenzie, 2013).

The challenge of sustaining growth of land conversion and development are

guided by a framework to meets a place, country, or province’s long term requirements

for food security, settlements, industrial and economic development. Public policies

designed to guide the land use changes created by urbanization are becoming increasingly

common.

Statement of the Problem

The Municipality of Baliuag has shown massive land conversion in its

agricultural land due to economic development over the past ten years. The researchers

see the potential to necessarily update land cover maps and for effective management and

planning of the resources for sustainable development.

Specifically the study will answer the following questions:

1. Where are the locations that have massive changes of land cover within

Baliuag, Bulacan for the last ten years?

2. How can the Municipality of Baliuag, Bulacan improve their land use plan with

accurate and up-to-date land cover change informations?

3. What are the effects of massive land conversion to the farmers and landowners

of Baliuag, Bulacan?
Significance of the Study

The results of the study will benefit to the following:

Students: This study hopes to establish ideas to the student researchers about land

conversion they can use it as reference data in conducting new researches or in testing the

validity of other related findings and also serve as their cross reference that will give

them background or an overview of the land conversion of agricultural lands to

residential and commercial land.

Peoples: This research will also educate the people about the negative effects of

urbanization and industrialization of a municipal to the farmlands or crop yields and to

the livelihood of the local people.

Municipality: As an output of this research it will contribute to the municipality

to have them a land cover change map to know or to them to visualize what the changes

of their land use in the last ten years.

Scope and Limitations

This study focuses on land conversion of Agricultural lands to residential land or

commercial land in Municipality of Baliuag province of Bulacan. The researchers

conducted an observational research about land cover changed in Baliuag area in year

2008 to 2018. This study performed by students of Bulacan Agricultural State College

located at Pinaod, San Ildefonso Bulacan during the second semester of school year

2018-2019.
 It limits that the data gathered for the study is only Comprehensive Land Use Plan

and satellite images. The availability of other necessary data is limited.

Location of the Study

The main focus of this study is the Municipality of Baliuag, it is a first class

municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines and according to the 2015 census, it

has a population of 149,954 people. The study area is located in the central part of

Bulacan. The area covered in this investigation is a total of 45.05 sq. km (17.39 sq. mi.)

lying in between 14 ̊ 57’ N latitude and 120 ̊ 54’ E longitude.

Figure 1: Map of Baliuag, Bulacan

In light of this study, the following terms are given definition:

Agricultural Land. It is typically land devoted to agriculture.

Residential Land. (Also called Commercial real estate, investment or income property)

refers to buildings or land intended to generate a profit, either from capital gain or rental

income.

Urbanization. It refers to the population shift from rural areas to urban areas, the gradual

increase in the proportion to people living in urban areas, and the way in which each

society adapts to this change.

Industrialization. It is the process by which an economy is tranformed from primarily

agricultural to one based on the manufacturing of goods.

Land Conversion. It refers to the changing of the status of land from agriculture to non-

agriculture.

Land Use. It refers to the management and modification of natural environment or

wilderness into built environment such as settlements and semi-natural habitats such as

arable fields, pastures, and managed woods.

Land Cover Change. It refers to the loss of natural areas, particularly loss of forests to

urban or exurban development, or the loss of agricultural areas to urban or exurban

development.
 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter presents the related literature and studies after the thorough and in-

depth search done by the researcher. This will also present the relevance of surveyed

literature and studies to present research and the conceptual framework to fully

understand the research to be done.

Foreign Literature

In the book Reference Module in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences,

with the topic of Application of GIS-Based Models for Land-Use Planning in China;

2016, it stated that land-use planning approach in China was greatly improved over the

past decades along with the advance of geographical information technologies such as

GIS-based models. This article presents two interesting case studies in recent practice of

land-use planning in China, namely major function zoning (MFZ) and national general

land use planning (NGLUP) (2006–2020). In the first case, the GIS-based decision

support system (DSS) is applied to assist planners to implement a group-based decision-

making in the integrated regional planning of Beijing–Tianjin metropolitan area; in the

second case, GIS method helps to evaluate the effects of arable land use in different

regions of China. Two cases suggest that GIS-based methods are of great help not only

because they provide a practical tool in dealing with spatial analysis by combing social,

economic, and ecological variables, but also because they promise the involvement of

different stakeholders and interactions between experts and public participants.

Use/Land Cover Changes Using Remote Sensing Data and GIS at an Urban Area,

Tirupati, India by Praveen Kumar Mallupattu et.al, 2013, wherein GIS and remote

sensing are used in the research of land cover change in an urban area. In this book, it

stated that remote sensing has become an important tool applicable to developing and

understanding the global, physical processes affecting the earth. Recent development in

the use of satellite data is to take advantage of increasing amounts of geographical data

available in conjunction with GIS to assist in interpretation. GIS is an integrated system

of computer hardware and software capable of capturing, storing, retrieving,

manipulating, analyzing, and displaying geographically referenced (spatial) information

for the purpose of aiding development-oriented management and decision-making

processes. Remote sensing and GIS have covered wide range of applications in the fields

of agriculture, environments, and integrated eco-environment assessment. Several

researchers have focused on LU/LC studies because of their adverse effects on ecology of

the area and vegetation.

Local Literature

In the Philippines, most of the lands are devoted for agricultural purposes. One of

the related article is the Land Use/Land Cover Change Detection and Urban Sprawl

Analysis in the Mount Makiling Forest Reserve Watersheds and Buffer Zone,

Philippines, published on January 2019 by Merlyn Soriano of University of the

Philippines Los Banos, stated that the impacts of urbanization along the fringes include

fragmentation of habitats, loss of rare species, edge effects, the introduction of alien

species, degradation of the environment, reduced tourism potential and the loss of
ecosystems services vital for the wellbeing and health of urban residents,as cited in.

Considering these threats and pressures, periodic assessment and monitoring of the urban

development are important for conservation and protection of ecologically valuable areas

from further degradation, to evaluate natural resources and the effectiveness of

management and to make effective and appropriate measures using remote sensing and

Geographic Information System (GIS)]. Remote sensing is a cost-and-time efficient tool

that can be used for monitoring urban expansion and the impact of human activities on

the landscape of forest reserves, national parks or protected areas. This study assessed the

land use/land cover change and urban sprawl in the Mount Makiling Forest Reserve

(MMFR) Watersheds and its buffer zone from 1992 to 2015. Shannon’s entropy was

calculated to characterize and measure the relative trends in the dispersion or compaction

of urban sprawl in the MMFR watersheds and its buffer zone. The magnitude of change

of urban sprawl in the watersheds and its buffer zone over time was also analyzed.

Related Studies

Foreign Studies

Oyinloye Michael, Ogunlade Simeon, and Owoeye Julius Oluranti, “Geo-Spatial

Analysis of Informal Settlements on Land Use/ Cover Change Areas of Osogbo, Nigeria

2018”. The research conducted using remote sensing, Geographical Information System

and questionnaire to collect the required data. The study made use of satellite imageries

of Landsat (MSS) images of 1972, 1986 and 1991 (TM), Landsat Enhanced Thematic
Mappings (ETM+) of 2002 and 2016. The study employed supervised digital image

classification method using ILWIS 3.2 and Arc GIS 10.3 software to classify the land

use/ land cover into built-up area, vegetation, gallery forests, cultivation, and water

bodies. Digitized maps were carefully overlaid and calculated to get the different trend of

changes in the Informal settlement and its impact on land use/cover cultivation.

Agricultural Land Conversion in the Sub-Urban Area: A Case Study of Rajshami

Metropolitan City (Md. Abdul Halim, Md. Mizanoor Rahman, and Md. Zahidul Hassan,

2013). The major focus of this study was to mention the general land use pattern of the

area, estimates the agricultural land conversion besides determining the causes and

consequences affecting such conversion. To analyze and process collected data the

researchers used the SPSS, Excel, and Arc GIS software. Different types of descriptive

statistics were applied for representing the analyzed data. They observed that the land

conversion from agriculture to non-agriculture allied in recent time is more than the

previous time due to gradually increasing land demand in housing and relevant services

which invites adverse impact on agricultural land as well as its dependent population.

Mohammad Rondhi. Pravitasari Anjar Pratiwi, et, al.; “Agricultural Land

Conversion, Land Economic Value, and Sustainable Agriculture: A case Study in East

Java, Indonesia”, November 2018. Based on the results of this study show that

agricultural land yielded a higher economic benefit in rural areas. Conversely, compared

to agricultural land, housing in urban areas yields a value that is seven times higher.

Moreover, agricultural land was shown to yield a higher profit after conversion.
Local Studies

Angela Grace Toledo Bruno, Joseph C. Paquit, et. al.; June 2016, “Integrating

GIS with Land Use Decision Making; The Case of Central Mindanao University,

Philippines.” According to the study with the application of GIS, lands are delineated and

classified to optimize its uses considering biophysical setting, social condition and

climate and natural hazards. Furthermore, the GIS-generated maps have become the tool

for decision-making to optimize the allocation and use of the CMU (Central Mindanao

University) land.

Beverly Mae Brebante, “Analyzing the effects of Land Cover/ Land Use Changes

on Flashflood: A Case Study of Marikina River Basin (MRB), Philippines”, March 2017.

According to study LULC classification was initially established from 1989 Landsat TM

imagery and 2016 Landsat OLI imagery of the study area and was then subjected to

change detection.

Relevance of Surveyed Literature and Studies to Present Research

Mark and Kudakwashe (2010) in a study in Shurigi district in Midlands Province

of Zimbabwe serve the increase in cropland in the study revealed that significant increase

has been observed in dense forest area, cultivated land in water body however settlement,

wasteland land and uncultivated land has increase.

In order to use land optimally, it is necessary to have the information on

existing land use land cover. It is also important to have capability of monitoring the
dynamics of land use resulting out of both changing demands of increasing population

and forces of nature acting to shape the landscape.(Xlaomed and Rong Qing 1999).

Conceptual Framework

The figure 1 shows the conceptual framework of the study. Using the figure we

can determine the land cover change of Baliuag, Bulacan by Comprehensive Land Use

Plan and Satellite images.

Comprehensive
Land Use Plan

QGIS Digital Land

Satellite Images

Figure 2: Conceptual Framework

Digitized maps were carefully overlaid and calculated to get the different trend of

changes in the industrial, commercial, residential and its impact from the conversion of

agricultural land. The QGIS play important role in analyzing understanding of land use

and land cover changes in the area using multispectral satellite data obtained in 2008,

2013, and 2018. Change detection analysis was performed to compare the quantities of

land cover class conversions between time intervals and produce a digital land cover

change map.
 CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

In this chapter, the researchers discuss the research design data gathering

techniques and the research instrument that will be use in gathering the data essential for

the development of the study along with the data analysis scheme. The detailed flow

chart of methodology for this chapter is shown in figure 3.

Research Design

The researchers chose a descriptive research design because it best served to

answer the questions and the purpose of this study.

For the study, both primary and secondary data were utilized. The primary data

was acquired in the Municipality of Baliuag, Bulacan. And the secondary data was

satellite images collected using Google earth.

Data Gathering Techniques

The office of Municipal Planning and Development Coordinator (MPDC) of

Baliuag, Bulacan was used as instrument in gathering data needed in the study. The

researchers acquired a comprehensive land use plan, barangay boundary, built up,

municipal boundary and other data given to analyze and create an output of the study

which is the digital land cover change map of Baliaug, Bulacan. Google earth and other

software gave the researchers data needed in the study such as satellite images that serve

as a guide to conduct analysis of the changes of land usage in the municipal of Baliuag,

Bulacan.
Data Analysis Scheme

The researchers used the overlay analysis method to analyze the changes of

agricultural land in Baliuag, Bulacan from 2008 to 2018 through GIS software using the

data gathered from the MPDC and stitched captured satellite images from Google Earth.

The processed data is presented in digital and narrative form.

METHODOLOGY

CAPTURED IMAGE FROM GOOGLE DATA ACQUISITION FROM MPDC (2014

IMAGE STITCHING IMAGE PRE-PROCESSING

IMPORT IMAGE TO QGIS/ PRE- LAND USE AND LAND COVER

IMAGE PROCESSING/ TRACING PREPARATION OF LAND USE AND

SUPERVISED CLASSIFICATION
LAND USE AND LAND COVER MAP

LAND USE AND LAND COVER MAP (2014 AND 2016)

(2008 AND 2018)

OVERLAY ANALYSIS

LAND USE/ LAND COVER CHANGE

Figure 3.Flow Chart for Agricultural Land Cover Analysis in Baliuag, Bulacan
 CHAPTER IV

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The present study was an attempt to know about the location of massive changes

of land cover within Baliuag, Bulacan for the last ten years using the QGIS software. The

researcher used the satellite images and other shapefiles provided by the Municipal

Planning and Development Coordinator (MPDC) of Baliuag.

Figure 4. Land cover change of Baliuag, Bulacan from 2008 to 2018 using QGIS.
 Land Use Category Existing Land Area (Has.) % Share

Residential 854.32 18.96

Commercial 74.63 1.66

Institutional 19.66 0.44

Industrial 22.97 0.51

Agriculture 3,417.95 75.87

Roads and Bridges 58.47 1.30

Water Bodies 57.00 1.27

Total 4,505.00 100.00

Table 1: Land Supply Accounting, Year 2018

Agricultural area still dominates the Municipality of Baliuag, Bulacan in terms of

land area with 76% of its total land mass. This followed by residential area at 855

hectares or about 19% of the total land area of the town.

The researcher selected a sample of respondents residing in Baliuag. On this

representative sample, a survey was carried out to find out the extent of effects of

massive land conversion to the farmers and landowners. An interview schedule was used

to collect data for the study. This schedule comprised of businessmen, farmers,

households, and other ordinary citizen as well as close ended questions. The results

obtained were put through statistical analysis and are presented in this present chapter.