Land use/land cover (LU/LC) change dynamics using indices overlay method in Gautam Buddha Nagar District-India

Abstract

This study is aimed to analyze the dynamics of land use/ land cover (LU/LC) change in a newly created special economic zone, Gautam Buddha Nagar district during 2003–2015. The Landsat satellite data has been used to map the LU/LC pattern of 2003 and 2015 of the study area, using indices overlay method. Consequently, the indices overlay have been created using three land-use indices, i.e. modified normalized difference water index (MNDWI), soil adjusted vegetation index (SAVI), and enhanced built-up and bareness index (EBBI), and then the maximum likelihood classifier (MLC) has been used for the LU/LC classification. The result illustrates that the built-up area (419.35%) and open land (388.36%) have increased during 2003–2015 while the cropland (− 34.38%), scrubland (− 73.25%), and water bodies (− 58.37%) have declined. Further, northern parts of the district have experienced maximum change in the LU/LC while the southern parts have experienced comparatively low change. The study also reveals that the increase in the built-up area occurred mostly at the cost of cropland and scrubland. The statistical analysis shows that the EBBI and SAVI have high relationships with LU/LC while the MNDWI has a comparatively low relationship. The study concludes that cropland and scrubland are the main LU/LC types that get transformed due into the built-up area the study area and the SAVI, MNDWI, and EBBI are the good indicators in the study of LU/LC classification and change analysis.