Changes in LULC and agricultural practices in narkhed critical zone observatory: Understanding ground water depletion

Abstract

Depletion of water resources and unavailability of water is a major challenge for the country. Land use changes have also contributed to unavailability of water. Narkhed taluka in Nagpur, Maharashtra practices groundwater dependent extensive agriculture and the area has seen rapid change in Land use land cover (LULC) in the last few decades. Present study was carried out to understand the impact of changes in LULC in water availability and agricultural practices over the last two decades (1999 to 2018). Remote sensing/Geographical information system (RS/GIS) form change detection study followed by questionnaire survey approach was used for understanding the scenario. The change detection study provided an overview on the decrease of barren land by 13.7% and vegetation cover by 15.6% in the study area. Increase in fallow land, water body, and built-up was 23.2%, 2.3%, and 3.8% respectively. It was observed from survey responses that around 71% of farmers in the area lack sufficient water for irrigation, while only 29% of farmers have access to adequate water, and 7% agriculture is still rain-fed. Shift in cropping pattern from indigenous to cash crops is seen. Thus, high water demand for cash crops, the cultivation of orange and cotton has decreased by 1% and the cultivation of cereals has increased by 17%. Socioeconomic conditions of farmers has been affected. Although, construction of reservoir in the region has increased surface water yet is not sufficient. The Critical Zone Observatory in this study endorses transformative agriculture, restoring the critical zone functions and services in the region.