Assessing Land Use Change and Its Impact on Ecosystem Services in Khulna Conurbation

Abstract

In this research, the land-use change of Khulna Conurbation has been dissected utilizing Landsat images from 1987 to 2018 through GIS analysis and its effect on the ecosystem has been decided with the assistance of auxiliary information. The study showed that in Khulna Conurbation, built-up territory expanded from 1343 ha to 4332 ha (223%) from 1987 to 2018. On the contrary, vegetation, water bodies, and river area decreased during that period. The ecosystem service values for all land use categories were negative except for urban built-up. The largest amount of decline was observed in the vegetation area (US $ 11.79 million) followed by rivers and water bodies. The built-up is the major contributor to ecosystem services in this area and has largely affected the ecosystem. Proper district and Upazilla level land use plans should be implemented to maintain the sustainable growth of the city and enhancement natural ecosystem services.