The Aral Sea was one of the largest lakes in the world, but almost 60,000 km² of the waterbody has dried up due to water withdrawal for irrigation. Afforestation on the desiccated seafloor could be important in preventing soil flation, dust storms, and negative impact on human health. In this study, we aimed to delineate potential vegetation establishment areas on the dried Aral Sea bed using remote‐sensed data in support of the decision‐making related to afforestation. Various indices such as normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), topsoil grain size index (TGSI), soil salinity index (SSI), and normalized multiband drought index (NMDI) were calculated from the LANDSAT‐8 OLI satellite imagery. As an indicator of vegetation existence, NDVI was classified into three groups and set as a base for classifying other indices by performing statistical analyses. Based on the decision tree method, indices were combined and the potential vegetation establishment area was detected. Higher NDVI was identified in the southeast than the west of the study area. The results of statistical analyses showed that TGSI had a positive correlation with NDVI, while SSI and NMDI had a negative correlation. Overall, the potential vegetation area comprised 7,295.21 km² (61.34%) of the 'unsuitable' area, 2,818.64 km² (23.7%) of the 'intermediate' area, 1,612.15 km² (13.56%) of the 'suitable' area, and 166.42 km² (1.4%) of the 'very suitable' area. The developed map enables to identify dried seafloor area suitable for vegetation establishment thus contributing to planning the land rehabilitation efforts and preventing further land degradation.

中文翻译：

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使用卫星图像识别干咸海底的潜在植被建立区域

咸海是世界上最大的湖泊之一，但近60,000 km ²由于灌溉用水的原因，水体中的一部分已经干dried。在干燥的海底造林对防止土壤扁平化，沙尘暴以及对人类健康的负面影响可能很重要。在这项研究中，我们旨在使用遥感数据在干旱的咸海床上划定潜在的植被建立区域，以支持与造林有关的决策。根据LANDSAT-8 OLI卫星图像计算出各种指数，例如归一化差异植被指数（NDVI），表土粒度指数（TGSI），土壤盐分指数（SSI）和归一化多波段干旱指数（NMDI）。作为植被存在的指标，NDVI被分为三类，并通过进行统计分析为其他指标的分类奠定了基础。根据决策树方法，结合指标并检测潜在的植被建立面积。研究区东南部的NDVI高于西部地区。统计分析结果表明，TGSI与NDVI呈正相关，而SSI和NMDI呈负相关。总体而言，潜在的植被面积为7,295.21 km“不适合”区域的^2个（61.34％），“中度”区域的2,818.64 km ²（23.7％），“适合”区域的1,612.15 km ²（13.56％）和166.42 km ²（1.4％） “非常合适”的区域。绘制的地图能够确定适合植被建立的干燥海底区域，从而有助于规划土地修复工作并防止土地进一步退化。