Assessment and change analyses (1987–2002) for tropical wetland ecosystem using earth observation and socioeconomic data

Nagabhatla, Nidhi; Finlayson, C. Max; Sellamuttu, Sonali Senaratna

doi:10.5721/eujrs20124520

Cited by 14 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…In many cases the critical ecosystems such as water bodies, marshy land and forested areas are degrading [57,58,60]. Unlike the ecosystems changes in wetland elsewhere, KTWR faces additional challenges from the dynamics of river course change, which is a big management challenge for the authority of this protected area.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Linking Spatio-Temporal Land Cover Change to Biodiversity Conservation in the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Nepal

et al. 2013

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Land cover change has been one of the major drivers of change leading to an alteration of critical habitats for many of the threatened species worldwide. Species with a narrow range and specialized habitats such as wetland ecosystems are at higher risk. The present paper describes spatial and temporal land use and cover change over the period of last 34 years in the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve (KTWR), Nepal. High spatial resolution Indian Remote-Sensing Satellite (IRS) Linear Imaging and Self Scanning Sensor (LISS-4) from 2005 and medium spatial resolution Landsat Multispectral Scanner (MSS) from 1976; Thematic Mapper (TM) from 1989; Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) from 1999 and TM from 2010 were used to generate a land use/land cover map and change analysis. Acquired IRS LISS-4 and Landsat image was orthorectified into Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM), Zone 45 based on generated digital terrain model (DTM) from a topographic map and Ground Control Point (GCP) from the field. After rectifying all the images, eCognition developer software was used for object-based image analysis (OBIA). The change in the land cover and land use types were compared with the potential habitat of twenty globally significant species present in the reserve. The habitat information was collected from the literature and a map was prepared based on 'presence' data, habits and habitats used to identify their distribution pattern. The analysis revealed that the KTWR has gone through significant changes in land cover and ecosystems over the last 34 years due to the change in river course and anthropogenic pressure leading to direct change in habitats of the species. Forests have been reduced by 94% from their original state whereas the grassland has increased by 79% from its original state. On the basis of total land cover, forests, river and stream, swamp and marshes decreased by 16%, OPEN ACCESSDiversity 2013, 5 336 14% and 3% respectively over the last 34 years whereas the grassland has increased by 45%. These ecosystems are also an important habitat for the majority of the species, which is resulting in habitat loss. Notably, the wetland ecosystems (marshes/swamps and river/streams), being one of the most important habitat for many globally threatened species, have changed by more than 30% from their original state in 1976. Based on the analysis, recommendations for management interventions were made.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Linking Spatio-Temporal Land Cover Change to Biodiversity Conservation in the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Nepal

et al. 2013

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“…However, comparable data from the Himalayas is limited, and the studies that have been carried out have used different temporal and spatial scales (Nagendra, Paul, Pareeth, & Dutt, 2009). Forest fragmentation can have multiple impacts on ecosystem functions (Nagabhatla, Finlayson, & Sellamuttu, 2012), including habitat loss (Fahrig, 2003), change in species abundance (Pardini, de Arruda Bueno, Gardner, Prado, & Metzger, 2010), and overall loss of biodiversity (Biswas & Khan, 2011;Wenguang et al, 2008). The trends and predictions of forest fragmentation together with the land cover change in KSL-Nepal could have a serious impact on the rich biodiversity of the area as well as on cultural, supporting and regulatory services, including the water catchments.…”

Section: Forest Fragmentation and Predictionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The changing land cover and fragmenting forest on the Roof of the World: A case study in Nepal's Kailash Sacred Landscape

Uddin

Chaudhary

Chettri

et al. 2015

Landscape and Urban Planning

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h i g h l i g h t s• Temporal change in land cover and forest fragmentation were analyzed.• The results showed 9% decrease in forest cover and 12% increase in cropland.• A further 4% decline in forest cover and 5% increase in cropland were predicted. • 10% decrease in large core forest and 10.6% decline in core forest was predicted.• Expansions of cropland coupled with high dependency on forests are the drivers. a b s t r a c tLand cover change is one of the most important drivers of forest ecosystem change. The Hindu Kush Himalayan region (HKH) has experienced severe forest degradation but data and documentation are limited. We undertook this study in the Nepalese part of the Kailash Sacred Landscape (KSL), an important transboundary region known for its biodiversity and the scared values. Forest is an important ecosystem within the landscape and provides various goods and services including habitat for many keystone species. However, precise information on forest change and overall land cover change in the area is limited. We analyzed land cover change and forest fragmentation between 1990 and 2009, and the predicted change for 2030. There was a 9% decrease in forest cover and 12% increase in cropland between 1990 and 2009. A further 4% decline in forest cover and 5% increase in cropland was predicted by 2030, together with a slight increase in grassland and barren area. Fragmentation analysis showed a 10% decrease in large core forest between 1990 and 2009, accompanied by an increase in patch forest. A further 10.6% decline in core forest was predicted by 2030, accompanied by an increase in patch, perforated, small-sized core, and mediumsized core areas. The study suggests that expansions of cropland coupled with high dependency on forests are the major drivers of the observed forest change. Recommendations are made based on the results of the study that will help to maintain and restore forest, and support biodiversity conservation and livelihoods.

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“…A close scrutiny of Table 5 shows that the degree of fragmentation was similar for the first two time periods but increased significantly in the 3 rd time period (2004-2011) and finally dropped down in the last time period (2011-2018). The restoration on the other hand increased slightly on the 2 nd time period (1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004), then plunged sharply for the 3 rd period (2004-2011) and retrieved on the th period as equivalent to the 2 nd period. Overall, the area of forest gained from restoration was nearly 21 km 2 more than the area lost from forest fragmentation.…”

Section: Forest Fragmentation and Restoration Spatial Process Analysismentioning

confidence: 96%

Characterizing changes in land cover and forest fragmentation in Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve of Nepal from multi-temporal Landsat observations (1993-2018)

Sharma

Bista²,

2019

Preprint

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14 ABSTRACT15 Recent centuries have experienced drastic changes in land cover around the world where 16 Himalayan countries like Nepal have undergone changes in the past several decades because of 17 increasing anthropogenic pressure, natural risks and climatic factors. Accordingly, forest 2 18 fragmentation has also been increasing alarmingly, which is a matter of concern for natural 19 resource management agencies and biodiversity conservation communities. In this study, we 20 assessed land cover change and forest fragmentation trends in Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve of 21 Nepal by implementing landscape fragmentation and recovery process models, and calculating 22 landscape indices based on five-date land cover maps derived from Landsat satellite images from 23 1993 to 2018. Six land cover types including forest, grass land, barren land, agriculture & built-24 up, water bodies and snow & glaciers were determined after an intensive field survey. Diverse 25 derived image features were fed to the Support Vector Machines classifier to create land cover 26 maps, followed by a validation procedure using field samples and reference data. Land cover maps 27 showed an increase in forest area from 37.32% (1993) to 39.26% (2018) and snow & glaciers from 28 1.72% (1993) to 2.15% (2018) while a decrease in grassland area from 38.78% (1993) to 36.41% 29 (2018) and agriculture & built-up area from 2.39% (1993) to 1.80% (2018). Barren land and water 30 body showed negligible changes. The spatial explicit process of forest fragmentation indicated that 31 shrinkage was the most responsible factor of forest loss while expansion was dominant to 32 increment for forest restoration. High dependency of people persists on the reserve for subsistence 33 resources being a cause of forest fragmentation and posing threats to biodiversity. Focus should 34 be made on strategies to decrease the anthropogenic pressure on the reserve. This requires 35 approaches that provide sustainable alternative resources to the local people and innovations that 36 will help them become less reliant on natural resources. 37 39 3 40 Introduction 41 Land use land cover (LULC) change is considered as one of the most important variables of global 42 ecological change since its impacts are profound and range from global carbon and hydrologic 43 cycle to aerosols and local biodiversity [1]. Land use refers to human activity on a piece of land 44 for different purposes such as industrial zones, residential zones, and land cover refers to its 45 surface features such as forest, grassland, etc [2, 3]. Land use is one of the main factors through 46 which humans influence the environment. It involves both the manner in which the biophysical 47 attributes of the land are manipulated and the intent underlying that manipulation [4]. There's a 48 direct link between land cover and the actions of people in their environment, i.e., land use may 49 lead to land cover change. 50 There have been drastic changes in LULC over recent centuries where Nepal has undergone 51 constant c...

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Assessment and change analyses (1987–2002) for tropical wetland ecosystem using earth observation and socioeconomic data

Cited by 14 publications

References 11 publications

Linking Spatio-Temporal Land Cover Change to Biodiversity Conservation in the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Nepal

Linking Spatio-Temporal Land Cover Change to Biodiversity Conservation in the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Nepal

The changing land cover and fragmenting forest on the Roof of the World: A case study in Nepal's Kailash Sacred Landscape

Characterizing changes in land cover and forest fragmentation in Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve of Nepal from multi-temporal Landsat observations (1993-2018)

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