Analysis of Land Cover Change in Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary, Western Ghats, India using Remote Sensing and GIS
Author: Aditya S. K., Smitha Asok V., Rajesh Reghunath
Category: Research Article
Abstract:
Land cover and land use change is an important component in understanding the reciprocal action of human activities with the environment. Tropical forests of Western Ghats have undergone swift land cover changes in the last few decades due to several anthropogenic factors. The present study assessed the land cover change in the Shendurney wildlife sanctuary, a mega biodiversity hot spot of Western Ghats, Kerala over a period of fifteen years using GIS and Remote sensing techniques. The study intended to develop a land use map of the experimental area based on the unsupervised classification method and to assess the rate of land degradation. The results revealed that there was a great spatial variability in the pattern of forest loss and land use change throughout the region which in turn affected the species diversity.
Keywords: deforestation, land use/land cover, GIS, remote sensing
