Land Use/Land Cover: Status and Changes

Abstract

Streamflow of any area is influenced by land use/land cover (LULC) distribution. If LULC changes are not taking place in accordance with the environmental conditions, they present significant issues and barriers to the sustainable development of any location. With an increasing population comes a greater need for food and energy. As a result, human activities such as farming, hydropower project construction, and forest clearance become more intense with time, resulting in LULC changes. The results demonstrate that, except for cultivated land and barren land, all LULC classes are expanding. Forest regions and water bodies have absorbed most of the surge. Moreover, a modest rise was noted in the study region’s built-up area. As compared to very low-density rural areas, it demonstrates that dense urban areas are growing more rapidly than other classes, pointing to a rise in urbanization. Snow cover area (SCA) is increasing in all months except January, April, September, and October from 2001 to 2020. While the trend is minor, a decline in SCA during the pre-monsoon season might increase discharge, but over time, it may cause a decline in streamflow. Hence, it requires further analysis using fine-resolution data.