Current Science

M. D. Behera ¹, N. Patidar ², V. S. Chitale ³, N. Behera ², D. Gupta ², S. Matin ¹, V. Tare ⁴, S. N. Panda ², D. J. Sen ⁵

Affiliations
1 Spatial Analysis and Modelling Laboratory, Centre for Oceans, Rivers, Atmosphere and Land Sciences, IN
2 School of Water Resources, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur 721 302, IN
3 Spatial Analysis and Modelling Laboratory, Centre for Oceans, Rivers, Atmosphere and Land Sciences
4 Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur 208 016, IN
5 Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur 721 302, IN

Abstract

Ganga River Basin (GRB) is the second most populous river basin in the world, which has been undergoing rapid land-use change during the last few decades. Here, we analyse the landscape dynamics in Indian GRB (IGRB) using three indices, i.e. class area, mean patch size and number of patches for 14 land-use and land-cover (LULC) classes using multi-temporal Landsat satellite datasets of 1975 and 2010. Major change was observed with the expansion of agricultural lands and human settlements and depletion of forests. Agricultural lands covered the highest area (>75%), where low to medium-sized patches have increased and patches with larger size have been slightly reduced in size over past decades. The highest increase in percentage of built-up land has been appropriately captured on medium-resolution satellite imageries using visual interpretation technique. Degradation and loss of forest areas were reported in terms of landscape indices; however, the increase of plantation is a positive sign in the basin. In general, we observed aggregation of agricultural patches and reduction of forest patches in small to medium patch sizes. We argue the utility of 'onscreen visual interpretation' technique in favour of LULC mapping to achieve absolute accuracy in such a heterogeneous landscape, as it incorporates interpreter's knowledge. We appreciate the free availability of Landsat imageries having very good radiometry that has opened the doors for exercises with minimum cost. Located in one of the most fertile regions of India, the basin accommodates more than 400 million human population. This has led to expansion of agriculture and built-up land at the cost of forest and other land covers. Understanding landscape dynamics could help in designing an effective land-use policy for IGRB.

Keywords

Agricultural Patch, Landsat, Landscape Dynamics, Land Use Change, Visual Interpretation.

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V. S. Chitale ¹, M. D. Behera ¹, P. S. Roy ²

Affiliations
1 Centre for Oceans, Rivers, Atmosphere and Land Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 721 302, IN
2 University Centre for Earth and Space Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad 500 046, IN

Abstract

No Abstract.

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V. S. Chitale ¹, M. D. Behera ¹, P. S. Roy ²

Affiliations
1 Centre for Oceans, Rivers, Atmosphere and Land Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 721 302, IN
2 International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Hyderabad 502 324, IN

Abstract

Thirty-six global biodiversity hotspots harbour high concentrations of species and endemism¹. India accommodates in parts four hotspots, viz. the Himalaya (44.37% of global hotspot), Indo-Burma (5.13%), Sundaland (1.28%) and the Western Ghats (64.95%) that exhibit high levels of floral and faunal diversity. Based on data on endemic plants collected, we present hotspot-wise congruence in plant endemism using field sampling data from 1264, 1114, 78 and 1004 plots in the Himalaya, Indo-Burma, Sundaland and the Western Ghats respectively, using nested quadrates of 0.04 ha laid based on stratified random sampling².

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