Abstract
This study attempts to identify how land use has changed over time in Galle Divisional Secretary Division (DSD) with emphasis placed on change in built-up land. Galle DSD which encompasses 22.4 km2 is a semi-urban area which includes Galle city area, the capital of southern Sri Lanka. Land use change in Galle DSD from 1983 to 1999 has been reviewed using the available maps considering the five key land use classifications for the area: homesteads, built-up land, agricultural land, non-agricultural land and water bodies. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) assisted spatial analysis revealed that, built-up land has remarkably expanded by 1.33 km2 (approximately 6% of total area) during the 16 years period observed in this study, mainly at the expense of homesteads and agricultural land. Built-up land expansion has been taking place mainly adjacent to the homesteads and the existing built-up land. Bivariate correlation analysis was performed in order to determine the relationships between the key land use classifications. Comparatively higher negative correlations were noted between the extent covered by homesteads and the two land use categories; agricultural land and built-up land and these correlations were statistically significant. The ratio of built-up land to agricultural land has become almost half during the 16 years period. This continuing replacement of pervious surfaces by impervious built-up areas being one of the major reasons for Galle DSD area to experience frequent flooding problems highlights the necessity to control the urban growth in a sustainable manner.
Highlights
Several factors have influences on land use change process, including both physical aspects and human aspects
Agricultural land is more likely to get converted to homesteads which represents biggest percentage share of land use in Galle Divisional Secretary Division (DSD)
Pervious agricultural areas, which act as retention area for floods, converting to impervious built-up surfaces might have significantly contributing to the flooding problems taking place in Galle DSD so far, even with a small localized rain event
Summary
Several factors have influences on land use change process, including both physical aspects and human aspects. The process of urbanization has a considerable impact on the economics of the society in that area (He et al, 2006). In the Sri Lankan context, land use change is becoming vital component in the country’s current strategies for managing natural resources while promoting sustainable development. Several studies have shown that, increased surface runoff and incidents of flood take place due to increased extent of impervious surfaces in urbanized areas which reduce the time of runoff and increase the peak discharge (Praskievicz and Chang, 2009; Weng, 2001; Zhongchang et al, 2013)
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