Abstract
Land use/land cover (LU/LC) changes were determined in an urban area, Tirupati, from 1976 to 2003 by using Geographical Information Systems (GISs) and remote sensing technology. These studies were employed by using the Survey of India topographic map 57 O/6 and the remote sensing data of LISS III and PAN of IRS ID of 2003. The study area was classified into eight categories on the basis of field study, geographical conditions, and remote sensing data. The comparison of LU/LC in 1976 and 2003 derived from toposheet and satellite imagery interpretation indicates that there is a significant increase in built-up area, open forest, plantation, and other lands. It is also noted that substantial amount of agriculture land, water spread area, and dense forest area vanished during the period of study which may be due to rapid urbanization of the study area. No mining activities were found in the study area in 1976, but a small addition of mining land was found in 2003.
Highlights
In an urban environment natural and human-induced environmental changes are of concern today because of deterioration of environment and human health [1]
This paper focuses on land use/land cover (LU/LC) changes in an urban area, Tirupati, India, using remote sensing data and Geographical Information Systems (GISs) technology
Our results clearly show that LU/LC changes were significant during the period from 1976 to 2003
Summary
In an urban environment natural and human-induced environmental changes are of concern today because of deterioration of environment and human health [1]. Traditional methods for gathering demographic data, censuses, and analysis of environmental samples are not adequate for multicomplex environmental studies [3], since many problems often presented in environmental issues and great complexity of handling the multidisciplinary data set; we require new technologies like satellite remote sensing and Geographical Information Systems (GISs). These technologies provide data to study and monitor the dynamics of natural resources for environmental management [4]. Several researchers have focused on LU/LC studies because of their adverse effects on ecology of the area and vegetation [11,12,13,14]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
