Change Detection In Land Use/Land Cover Using Remote Sensing And Gis – A Case Study For Ur Basin In Tikamgarh District

Abstract

Land use and land cover is an important component to understand basin level land status as it shows the present as well as past status of the earth’s surface. The land use/land cover pattern of a region is an outcome of natural and socio-economic factors and its utilization gives information about the human livelihood and development. Land use and land cover are two separate terminologies which are often used interchangeably (Dimyati et al 1994). Land cover is a basic parameter which evaluates the content of earth surface as an important factor that affects the condition and functioning of the ecosystem whereas the land cover is a biophysical state of the earth surface, which can be used to estimate the interaction of biodiversity with the surrounding environment. Land use and land cover is dynamic in nature and provides a comprehensive understanding of the interaction and relationship of anthropogenic activities with the environment (Prakasam, 2010). As land is becoming a scarce resource due to immense agricultural and demographic pressure, therefore the information on land use/land cover and possibilities for their optimal use is essential for the selection, planning and implementation of land use schemes to meet the increasing demands for basic human needs and welfare. Bundelkhand region in Central India is in the limelight due to continuous droughts leading to large scale out migration, degraded forests and lands, high soil erosion, reduction in soil productivity and crop yields and has one of the lowest socioeconomic indicators in the country. The Ur river basin, a major tributary of River Dhasan with a catchment area of 990.37 sq. km has been selected for the study. The land use change detection has been performed based on the analysis of the digital data of LISS III & IRS-P6 with a resolution of 23.5m pertaining to 2003-04 and 2011-12. It has been observed that there has been a considerable change in the land use pattern with an increase of 55.02 % in the area under kharrif crop whereas the area under double crop has increased drastically by 136.17%. The increase in area under kharrif crop and double crop has been at the expense of land with scrubs which had a decrease of 73.4%. Even though there is slight change in the acreage under forest.