Abstract
Rapid urbanization and deforestation have led to increased areas of wasteland in the northern region of the Akola district of Maharashtra, India. This study investigates land use variations in the arid region with the help of multi-temporal images. Land use maps were employed for analysis of different classes using image classification tools in ArcGIS software. Multispectral satellite imagery data were used to create land cover variation maps and land use forecast maps for the study area. The land use classification change maps were produced from LISS-III satellite images and Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (2008 and 2015) using supervised classification techniques. Land use was divided into five major classes, i.e. agricultural land, developed land, wasteland, water bodies, and forestland. We observed significant changes in agricultural and forestland as a result of many factors including population growth, drought conditions, road infrastructure development, flooding, and soil erosion in the arid area. The overall accuracy of the supervised classification was 94.10% for 2008 and 88.14% for 2015, using the kappa method, which was a satisfactory result. The analysis of land use maps in the arid region revealed different patterns of use between 2008 and 2015. The results of this study may be useful for developing and implementing valuable management strategies for resource protection in the study area. These results show the potential for land use planning and development in arid regions using remote sensing and GIS technology.
Highlights
Land use and land cover change (LULCC) is an important measurement for assessing global change across a range of spatiotemporal scales (Lambin 1997)
Environmentalists are largely concerned with the effects of LULCC as they pertain to biodiversity and water ecology (Turner et al 2001; Butt et al 2015)
The key objective of this research was to use multispectral satellite images to distinguish the extent of changes in the arid area of the Akola district, Maharashtra, India, over a 15-year period for land use mapping to investigate the effects of climate change on land use
Summary
Land use and land cover change (LULCC) is an important measurement for assessing global change across a range of spatiotemporal scales (Lambin 1997). The increasing scarcity of natural resources is the result of vast agronomic development and demographic pressure. An understanding of LULCC patterns is essential for the management and development of natural resources (Myers 1993). Changes in land use and land cover patterns must be considered from the perspective of complex factors related to technology, demand, and social relationships affecting both ecological capacity and demand, along with the nature of the environment itself (Verburg et al 2004). Variation in land use/cover in a watershed can affect groundwater quality and source. LULCC due to watershed development and management commonly results in higher surface runoff, decreased groundwater recharge, and application of chemicals (Turner et al 2001). The determination of land use/cover patterns and their variations in watershed areas is
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