The effect of urbanization on the shrinkage of wetlands in the Noida-Greater Noida region and its surrounding sub-urban areas

Abstract

Increasing urbanization has an adverse effect on the wetlands of Gautam Buddh Nagar and its surrounding region, so the study aimed to understand the impact of urbanization on the wetlands and its surrounding region, Landsat satellite data was used for the change detection study. This study deals with the inventorisation of wetlands of size greater than 10 ha in Noida-Greater Noida region and its adjacent areas and assess the impact of urbanization on these wetlands. Land-Use/Land-Cover (LULC) maps were developed using GIS tools. Temporal data analysis detected a loss of 16.36% wetlands of size more than 10 ha since 2010 in the Gautam Buddha Nagar district. LULC analyses revealed the high impact of urbanization on 5 out of the 8 sites. LULC change also detected shrinkage of wetlands and alternations of land use in the catchment area of most of the wetlands. The findings of this study were then used to suggest management recommendations for the conservation of wetlands at a local scale.