Abstract
This study used time series remote sensing data from 1973, 1990 and 2004 to assess spatial forest cover change patterns in the Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR), South Western Ghats (India). Analysis of forest cover changes and its causes are the most challenging areas of landscape ecology, especially due to the absence of temporal ground data and comparable space platform based data. Comparing remotely sensed data from three different sources with sensors having different spatial and spectral resolution presented a technical challenge. Quantitative change analysis over a long period provided a valuable insight into forest cover dynamics in this area. Time-series maps were combined within a geographical information system (GIS) with biotic and abiotic factors for modelling its future change. The land-cover change has been modelled using GEOMOD and predicted for year 2020 using the current disturbance scenario. Comparison of the forest change maps over the 31-year period shows that evergreen forest being degraded (16%) primarily in the form of selective logging and clear felling to raise plantations of coffee, tea and cardamom. The natural disturbances such as forest fire, wildlife grazing, invasions after clearance and soil erosion induced by anthropogenic pressure over the decades are the reasons of forest cover change in KMTR. The study demonstrates the role of remote sensing and GIS in monitoring of large-coverage of forest area continuously for a given region over time more precisely and in cost-effective manner which will be ideal for conservation planning and prioritization.
Highlights
The value of forests to the world’s human population is becoming increasingly evident
The changes in the vegetation and land cover based on digital classification of satellite data shows a significant decrease of evergreen forest mostly to semi-evergreen forest types (Table 1)
In 2004 the evergreen forest has degraded to 188 km2 (i.e. 40% loss of land-cover where as semi-evergreen forest gained by 36% to 265.1 km2)
Summary
The value of forests to the world’s human population is becoming increasingly evident. Excessive alterations of the global environment by the human activities have led to various changes in the global biogeochemical cycles, transformation of land and have increased the mobility of many biota. These anthropogenically-induced changes have triggered the sixth major extinction event in the history of life on this earth and have caused widespread changes in the global distribution of organisms [1,2,3]. Tropical forests, covering less than 10% of the land areas, represent the largest terrestrial reservoir of biological diversity, from the gene to the habitat level. Agents of deforestation are bringing agricultural expansion, commercial logging, commercial forestry, mining, hydropower, industry, urbanization, road building and biotic pressures inside the forest ecosystems
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