Critical Analysis of Forest Degradation in the Southern Eastern Ghats of India: Comparison of Satellite Imagery and Soil Quality Index

Abstract

India has one of the largest assemblages of tropical biodiversity, with its unique floristic composition of endemic species. However, current forest cover assessment is performed via satellite-based forest surveys, which have many limitations. The present study, which was performed in the Eastern Ghats, analysed the satellite-based inventory provided by forest surveys and inferred from the results that this process no longer provides adequate information for quantifying forest degradation in an empirical manner. The study analysed 21 soil properties and generated a forest soil quality index of the Eastern Ghats, using principal component analysis. Using matrix modules and geospatial technology, we compared the forest degradation status calculated from satellite-based forest surveys with the degradation status calculated from the forest soil quality index. The Forest Survey of India classified about 1.8% of the Eastern Ghats’ total area as degraded forests and the remainder (98.2%) as open, dense, and very dense forests, whereas the soil quality index results found that about 42.4% of the total area is degraded, with the remainder (57.6%) being non-degraded. Our ground truth verification analyses indicate that the forest soil quality index along with the forest cover density data from the Forest Survey of India are ideal tools for evaluating forest degradation.

Evaluation of Soil Quality for Different Types of Land Use Based on Minimum Dataset in the Typical Desert Steppe in Ningxia, China

“…A vital resource of the ecosystem, soil, is assessed as the significant and nonrenewable pillar and plays a key role to regulate nutrient absorption, utilizing water and increasing productivity. e decrease in soil quality has been a global environmental crisis [1,2]. e desert grassland in Yanchi County of Ningxia is an ecologically fragile area with severe soil erosion, desertification, salinization, and uneven spatial distribution.…”

Diversity of over Storey Plant Communities of Tropical Forest Covers of Balasore District, Odisha, India

“…Presently as the tropical forests in most part of the world are under immense anthropogenic pressure require careful management intervention to maintain their overall biodiversity and sustainability [6]. The Indian subcontinent rich in biodiversity and as the 12 mega-diversity centres of the world facing problem in disappearance of tropical forests at an alarming rate due to anthropogenic activities and invasion of invasive species [7]. During the period 2009 to 2011 net and gross deforestation rate in India was -0.03 and -0.43, respectively [8].…”

Native tree species richness enhances matrix functionality for soil arthropods in tropical plantation landscapes: A case study from the Himalayas

“…We collected soil samples using soil corers measuring approximately 10 cm in diameter and 18 cm in depth within the same sampling units. We dried all the soil samples in shade and then sieved through 0.2 mm mesh using standard methods (Ramachandran et al, 2016). Precautions were taken not to include debris, rocks and grass from the sampled locations.…”

“…We dried all the soil samples in shade and then sieved through 0.2 mm mesh using standard methods (Ramachandran et al, 2016).…”