scholarly journals Research Progress on Changes in Land Use and Land Cover in the Western Himalayas (India) and Effects on Ecosystem Services

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 4504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Partho Protim Mondal ◽  
Yili Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Western Himalaya ◽  
Himalayan Region ◽  
Research Progress ◽  
Western Himalayas ◽  
Lulc Change ◽  
Western Himalayan Region

Western Himalaya is an important region in terms of its enriched biodiversity and immense ecosystem services (ESS). However, its biodiversity and ESS are under tremendous pressure from rapid population growth, developmental activities, unplanned urbanization, agricultural expansion, climate change, and the associated changes in land use and land cover (LULC). This study provides a systematic review of the composition and pattern of LULC (from existing literature) and the effects of LULC change on various ESS provided by the western Himalayan ecosystems. Despite being such a significant area, data and studies concerning the impacts of LULC change on the spatial distribution of ESS, focused particularly on the western Himalayan region are inadequately reported. Most existing studies indicate a general decrease in forest cover and an increase in forest fragmentation along with generally increasing trends in built-up areas, croplands, and barren lands. These results imply ecosystem degradation and a reduction in the potential for the sustainable flow of ESS from this region. In this respect, this study suggests that quantification and spatial mapping of ESS in the western Himalayan region is conducted.

scholarly journals Qualifying Land Use and Land Cover Dynamics and Their Impacts on Ecosystem Service in Central Himalaya Transboundary Landscape Based on Google Earth Engine

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 173
Author(s):  
Changjun Gu ◽  
Yili Zhang ◽  
Linshan Liu ◽  
Lanhui Li ◽  
Shicheng Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Forest Cover Change ◽  
Sacred Landscape ◽  
Lulc Changes ◽  
Google Earth Engine

Land use and land cover (LULC) changes are regarded as one of the key drivers of ecosystem services degradation, especially in mountain regions where they may provide various ecosystem services to local livelihoods and surrounding areas. Additionally, ecosystems and habitats extend across political boundaries, causing more difficulties for ecosystem conservation. LULC in the Kailash Sacred Landscape (KSL) has undergone obvious changes over the past four decades; however, the spatiotemporal changes of the LULC across the whole of the KSL are still unclear, as well as the effects of LULC changes on ecosystem service values (ESVs). Thus, in this study we analyzed LULC changes across the whole of the KSL between 2000 and 2015 using Google Earth Engine (GEE) and quantified their impacts on ESVs. The greatest loss in LULC was found in forest cover, which decreased from 5443.20 km2 in 2000 to 5003.37 km2 in 2015 and which mainly occurred in KSL-Nepal. Meanwhile, the largest growth was observed in grassland (increased by 548.46 km2), followed by cropland (increased by 346.90 km2), both of which mainly occurred in KSL-Nepal. Further analysis showed that the expansions of cropland were the major drivers of the forest cover change in the KSL. Furthermore, the conversion of cropland to shrub land indicated that farmland abandonment existed in the KSL during the study period. The observed forest degradation directly influenced the ESV changes in the KSL. The total ESVs in the KSL decreased from 36.53 × 108 USD y−1 in 2000 to 35.35 × 108 USD y−1 in 2015. Meanwhile, the ESVs of the forestry areas decreased by 1.34 × 108 USD y−1. This shows that the decrease of ESVs in forestry was the primary cause to the loss of total ESVs and also of the high elasticity. Our findings show that even small changes to the LULC, especially in forestry areas, are noteworthy as they could induce a strong ESV response.

scholarly journals Ecosystem Service Values Changes in Response to Land-Use/Land-Cover Dynamics in Dry Afromontane Forest in Northern Ethiopia

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (23) ◽  
pp. 4653 ◽  
Author(s):  
Negasi Solomon ◽  
Alcade C. Segnon ◽  
Emiru Birhane
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Northern Ethiopia ◽  
Land Use Land Cover ◽  
Afromontane Forest ◽  
Land Cover Dynamics ◽  
Dry Afromontane Forest

Despite their importance as sources of ecosystem services supporting the livelihoods of millions of people, forest ecosystems have been changing into other land use systems over the past decades across the world. While forest cover change dynamics have been widely documented in various ecological systems, how these changes affect ecosystem service values has received limited attention. In this study we assessed the impact of land-use/land-cover dynamics on ecosystem service values in dry Afromontane forest in Northern Ethiopia. We estimated ecosystem service values and their changes based on the benefit transfer method using land cover data of the years 1985, 2000, and 2016 with their corresponding locally valid value coefficients and from the Ecosystem service valuation database. The total ecosystem service values of the whole study area were about USD 16.6, 19.0, and 18.1 million in 1985, 2000, and 2016, respectively. The analyses indicated an increase in ecosystem service values from 1985 to 2000 and a decrease in ecosystem service values from 2000 to 2016. Similarly, the contribution of specific ecosystem services increased in the first study period and decreased in the second study period. The findings highlight how forest cover dynamics can be translated into changes in ecosystem service values in dry Afromontane forest ecosystems in Northern Ethiopia and showed how specific ecosystem services contributed to the observed trends. The findings also illustrated the temporal heterogeneity in the impacts of land-use/land-cover dynamics on values of ecosystem services. The findings can serve as crucial inputs for policy and strategy formulations for the sustainable use and management of forest resources and can also guide the allocation of limited resources among competing demands to safeguard the ecosystems that offer the best-valued services.

scholarly journals Quantifying the Spatial Association between Land Use Change and Ecosystem Services Value: A Case Study in Xi’an, China

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 4449
Author(s):  
Yajing Shao ◽  
Xuefeng Yuan ◽  
Chaoqun Ma ◽  
Ruifang Ma ◽  
Zhaoxia Ren
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Spatial Heterogeneity ◽  
Spatial Association ◽  
Lulc Change ◽  
Ecosystem Services Value ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Gwr Model ◽  
The Relationship

The impact of land use and land cover (LULC) change on ecosystem services value (ESV) varies in different spatial locations. Although many studies have focused on quantifying the effect of LULC change on ESV, few have considered the spatial heterogeneity of the relationship between LULC change and ESV. Therefore, this study examines the relationship between ESV and LULC change from a spatial perspective in Xi’an City. We divide the study area into 10,522 grid cells, based on land cover data from 2000 to 2018, and we identify the spatial-temporal dynamics of LULC change. Next, we employ the Benefits Transfer Method (BTM) to evaluate the ESV, and the ESV is corrected by the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). A geographically weighted regression (GWR) model and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression model are used to assess the spatial association of LULC change and ESV. The results show that the total ESV loss is 6.57 billion yuan (Chinese yuan), and the loss rate is 12.18%. The distribution of ESV shows an obvious spatial heterogeneity, and the low-value area of ESV expands eastward from the main urban area. More than 50% of total ESV is provided by woodland. From 2000 to 2018, the land use pattern in Xi’an underwent a significant change with the developed land increasing by 64.09%, whereas farmland decreased by 12.49%. Based on the GWR model, the relationship between LULC change and ESV in Xi’an showed a significant negative association and spatial heterogeneity. Our study results provide a new way to effectively identify the relationship between LULC change and ESV, and in turn, to fully understand the ecological trends at the regional scale, laying a foundation for regional sustainable development.

scholarly journals Assessing the Spatio-Temporal Pattern of Land Use and Land Cover Changes in Osun Drainage Basin, Nigeria

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 41-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eniola Damilola Ashaolu ◽  
Jacob Funso Olorunfemi ◽  
Ifatokun Paul Ifabiyi
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Temporal Pattern ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Drainage Basin ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Satellite Image ◽  
Land Use Land Cover ◽  
Lulc Change ◽  
Spatio Temporal

Abstract Over the years, Osun drainage basin has witnessed tremendous increase in population, and urbanization that have changed the landscape of the area. This study evaluated the spatio-temporal pattern of land use/land cover change (LULC) in the study area, and made hydrological inferences. Landsat imageries were acquired from USGS-EROS satellite image database for the period 1984, 2000 and 2015, while the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) was obtained from Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) of the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA). Supervised image classification using the Maximum Likelihood Algorithm in Erdas Imagine was adopted to classified the land use/land cover of the study area into seven classes. Elevation, aspect and slope of the study area were processed from DEM using ArcGIS. Modules for Land Use Change Evaluation (MOLUSCE) plugin in QGIS was used to simulate the basin future LULC change, using change driving factors of population, elevation, aspect and slope of the study area. There was about 234% increase in built up areas and 89.22% in crop/shrubs between 1984 and 2015. The most significant decrease in LULC occurred in forest (58.75%) and wetland (84.69%) during this period. The predicted future LULC change suggests that only about 12% of the basin will remain under forest cover by the year 2046. The results underscored the increasing anthropogenic activities in the basin that influenced recharge rate, surface runoff, incidences of soil erosion, etc., in Osun drainage basin. The planting of the lost native trees was recommended for the sustainability of the basin’s ecosystem.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Land Use and Land Cover Change and Its Drivers in Battambang Province, Cambodia from 1998 to 2018

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 11170
Author(s):  
Taingaun Sourn ◽  
Sophak Pok ◽  
Phanith Chou ◽  
Nareth Nut ◽  
Dyna Theng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Development Economic ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
Lulc Change ◽  
Barren Land ◽  
Land Prices

The main objective of this research was to evaluate land use and land cover (LULC) change in Battambang province of Cambodia over the last two decades. The LULC maps for 1998, 2003, 2008, 2013 and 2018 were produced from Landsat satellite imagery using the supervised classification technique with the maximum likelihood algorithm. Each map consisted of seven LULC classes: built-up area, water feature, grassland, shrubland, agricultural land, barren land and forest cover. The overall accuracies of the LULC maps were 93%, 82%, 94%, 93% and 83% for 1998, 2003, 2008, 2013 and 2018, respectively. The LULC change results showed a significant increase in agricultural land, and a large decrease in forest cover. Most of the changes in both LULC types occurred during 2003–2008. Overall, agricultural land, shrubland, water features, built-up areas and barren land increased by 287,600 hectares, 58,600 hectares, 8300 hectares, 4600 hectares and 1300 hectares, respectively, while forest cover and grassland decreased by 284,500 hectares and 76,000 hectares respectively. The rate of LULC changes in the upland areas were higher than those in the lowland areas of the province. The main drivers of LULC change identified over the period of study were policy, legal framework and projects to improve economy, population growth, infrastructure development, economic growth, rising land prices, and climate and environmental change. Landmine clearance projects and land concessions resulted in a transition from forest cover and shrubland to agricultural land. Population and economic growth not only resulted in an increase of built-up area, but also led to increasing demand for agricultural land and rising land prices, which triggered the changes of other LULC types. This research provides a long-term and detailed analysis of LULC change together with its drivers, which is useful for decision-makers to make and implement better policies for sustainable land management.

Land use and land cover changes in the catchments impact the ecosystem in Phewa, Begnas, and Rupa lakes, Nepal

2020 ◽  
Vol 60 ◽  
pp. 195-205
Author(s):  
Sudip Acharya
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Sedimentation Rate ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Nutrient Loading ◽  
Lake Ecosystem ◽  
Lulc Change ◽  
Lake Ecosystems ◽  
Agriculture Land ◽  
Physiochemical Parameters

Lakes are the environmental and socioeconomic assets of Nepal. In the past few decades, land use and land cover (LULC) change has severely altered the lake ecosystems. The sediment and nutrients loading into the lakes have altered lake ecosystem significantly. This study analyzes the spatiotemporal variations of LULC change and examines its impact on lake environment of Phewa, Begnas and Rupa lakes during 1975–2018 by using Landsat satellite images and data from published literatures. Results showed that from 1975 to 2018, forest cover and agriculture land in catchments of all three lakes has decreased, while the built-up area has increased. LULC change in the catchment have bought the significant impact on the lake environment in terms of sedimentation rate, physiochemical parameters and biological environment. From 1975 to 2000 forest cover in lakes catchment has decreased, whereas the agriculture land has increased. At the same time, sediment and agriculture based nutrient loading into lakes has increased indicated by changes in sedimentation rate and alteration of physiochemical properties of the lake. From 2000 to 2018, forest and built-up area has increased while the agriculture land has decreased in lakes catchment. From 2000 to 2018, sedimentation rate of lakes has decreased compared to before 2000. Decreased sedimentation rate was interpreted due to increase in forest cover in the lake catchment. Increased nutrients loading into the lake during 2000 to 2018 has resulted serious eutrophication problem in lakes. Overall, this study suggests that the LULC change in the catchment have significant impact on lake environment.

scholarly journals Monitoring Land Encroachment and Land Use & Land Cover (LULC) Change in The Pachhua Dun, Dehradun District Using Landsat Images 1989 and 2020

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 71
Author(s):  
Rahul Thapa ◽  
Vijay Bahuguna
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Change Detection ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Rate Of Change ◽  
Sustainable Land Use ◽  
Global Changes ◽  
Landsat 8 ◽  
Lulc Change

Remote sensing and G.I.S help acquire information on changing land use and land cover (LULC), and it plays a pivotal role in measuring and monitoring such local and global changes. The present analysis has been executed on Landsat 5 TM, 1989 and Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS, 2020 images of Pachhua Dun, including Dehradun & Mussoorie urban agglomeration. The present study aims to detect the land encroachment or area of change; rate of change and monitoring spatio-temporal variation in LULC change between 1989-2020 using change detection technique, supervised maximum likelihood classification, and Overall accuracy & Kappa Coefficient (K) was applied as an accuracy assessment tool. The results derived from the change detection analysis exhibits that the highest growth rate was recorded in built-up areas +247.75% (110 km2) and revealed the annual rate of change of 3.55 km2. or  7.99%, the highest among all LULC class during the overall study period of 31 years. The result also found that among all LULC class, the most significant LULC conversion took place from agricultural land to built-up areas followed by open/scrubland and vegetation/forest cover; approximately 69.9km2 of the area under agricultural land was found to be converted into built-up areas. At the same time, 38.9 km2 area of vegetation/forest cover and 36.3 km2 of the area of open/scrubland have converted into agricultural land. Rising anthropogenic influence and unsustainable land-use practices in the study area have led to a large-scale human encroachment and rapid transformation of the natural landscape into the cultural landscape. This analysis provides the essential long-term Geospatial information related to LULC change for making optimum decision-making process and sustainable land-use planning in the Pachhua Dun-Dehradun District, Uttarakhand, India. 

scholarly journals Impact of Land Cover Change on Ecosystem Services in a Tropical Forested Landscape

Resources ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roshan Sharma ◽  
Bhagawat Rimal ◽  
Himlal Baral ◽  
Udo Nehren ◽  
Kiran Paudyal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Lulc Change ◽  
Southern Plains ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Cover Class ◽  
The Impact

Ecosystems provide a wide range of goods, services or ecosystem services (ES) to society. Estimating the impact of land use and land cover (LULC) changes on ES values (ESV) is an important tool to support decision making. This study used remote sensing and GIS tools to analyze LULC change and transitions from 2001 to 2016 and assess its impact on ESV in a tropical forested landscape in the southern plains of Nepal. The total ESV of the landscape for the year 2016 is estimated at USD 1264 million year−1. As forests are the dominant land cover class and have high ES value per hectare, they have the highest contribution in total ESV. However, as a result of LULC change (loss of forests, water bodies, and agricultural land), the total ESV of the landscape has declined by USD 11 million year−1. Major reductions come from the loss in values of climate regulation, water supply, provision of raw materials and food production. To halt the ongoing loss of ES and maintain the supply and balance of different ES in the landscape, it is important to properly monitor, manage and utilize ecosystems. We believe this study will inform policymakers, environmental managers, and the general public on the ongoing changes and contribute to developing effective land use policy in the region.

Satellite mapping of land use land cover (LULC) changes and NDVI in the Subansiri river basin of eastern Himalayas and the Alaknanda river basin of western Himalayas: A comparative study based on spatial analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (7) ◽  
pp. 130-137
Author(s):  
Sangita Devi ◽  
C. Goswami Dulal
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Vegetation Indices ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Population Pressure ◽  
Western Himalayas ◽  
Barren Land

This study attempts to analyse and interpret the land use and land cover changes in two Himalayan river basins viz. the Subansiri and the Alaknanda of eastern and western Himalayas respectively using Remote Sensing and GIS technologies with the help of LANDSAT imageries and standard procedures. It is found from the study that the vegetation cover had declined by 1.81% and barren land by 3.82% in 14 years in case of the Subansiri basin, while in case of the Alaknanda basin, the corresponding values work out to be 4.24% and 3.54% in 13 years. The reason for the decline of the forest cover and barren land may be due to the increasing agricultural practices, population pressure and construction activities in the basins. There are positive changes in agricultural lands by 6.39% and 6.40% in the Subansiri and the Alaknanda basin respectively to fulfil the needs of rising population and their livelihood. The NDVI shows high vegetation indices in both the basins (0.97 in Subansiri and 0.91in Alaknanda). From the study, anthropogenic activities are found to be comparatively more pronounced in the Alaknanda basin as compared to the Subansiri basin.

scholarly journals Land Use and Land Cover Changes, and Environment and Risk Evaluation of Dujiangyan City (SW China) Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 4631 ◽  
Author(s):  
Biswajit Nath ◽  
Zheng Niu ◽  
Ramesh Singh
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Landscape Planning ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Remote Sensing And Gis ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Lulc Change ◽  
2008 Wenchuan Earthquake

Understanding of the Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) change, its transitions and Landscape risk (LR) evaluation in earthquake-affected areas is important for planning and urban sustainability. In the present study, we have considered Dujiangyan City and its Environs (DCEN), a seismic-prone area close to the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake (8.0 Mw) during 2007–2018. Five different multi-temporal data sets for the years 2007, 2008, 2010, 2015, and 2018 were considered for LULC mapping, followed by the maximum likelihood supervised classification technique. The individual LULC maps were further used in four time periods, i.e., 2007–2018, 2008–2018, 2010–2018, and 2015–2018, to evaluate the Land Use and Land Cover Transitions (LULCT) using combined remote sensing and GIS (Geographical Information System). Furthermore, multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) techniques were applied for LR mapping. The results of the LULC change data indicate that built-up, agricultural area, and forest cover are the prime categories that had been changed by the natural and anthropogenic activities. LULCT, along with multi-parameters, are suggested to avoid development in fault-existing areas that are seismically vulnerable for future landscape planning in a sustainable manner.

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