Study of agricultural land use variability in Doukkala irrigated area between 1998 and 2020

Agricultural intensification is a production logic that depends on several factors. These factors are diverse and can be economic, technical and agro-ecological. It is a strategy operated for the profitability of equipment and hydro-agricultural developments and to contribute to food security. With the climatic changes that Morocco is experiencing, it seems that the water factor is currently the most determining factor. In the Doukkala irrigated perimeter, the area of our study which has benefited from major hydro-agricultural investment programs, the rate of use of agricultural space has fallen over the last few decades. This perimeter, which is located in western Morocco, is characterized by a semi-arid climate and the dominance of micro-property. The use of land observation data has shown great interest in the study of agricultural areas. Thus, this study aims to measure the spatio-temporal evolution of crop intensification through an analysis of the dynamics of vegetation cover using Landsat satellite images from 1998 to 2020 during each agricultural season. The crop year runs from September of year Y to August of the following year
$\mathrm{Y}+1$
. The NDVI time series profiles were analyzed to assess the change in agricultural space and identify the vegetation cover groups. The results obtained show that (1) satellite image time series can be very effective in measuring crop intensification; (1) the introduction of irrigation was accompanied by a strong intensification of agricultural activities that resulted in the presence, during most of the year, of dense vegetation cover; (2) During the two decades of the time series, the use of agricultural space was disrupted by the effects of climate change (irregularities and low rainfall during the first decade, and alternating rainy and dry years during the last). (3) Satellite image time series can be very effective in measuring crop intensification; the results also reveal that during the last three cropping seasons, the NDVI has dropped in the irrigated area due to insufficient irrigation water in the Al Massira dam.