Satellite mapping
of land use land cover (LULC) changes and NDVI in the Subansiri river basin of eastern
Himalayas and the Alaknanda river basin of western Himalayas: A comparative study
based on spatial analysis
Devi Sangita and Goswami Dulal C.
Res. J. Chem. Environ; Vol. 25(7); 130-137;
doi: https://doi.org/10.25303/257rjce13021; (2021)
Abstract
This study attempts to analyse and interpret the land use and land cover changes
in two Himalayan river basins viz. the Subansiri and the Alaknanda of eastern and
western Himalayas respectively using Remote Sensing and GIS technologies with the
help of LANDSAT imageries and standard procedures. It is found from the study that
the vegetation cover had declined by 1.81% and barren land by 3.82% in 14 years
in case of the Subansiri basin, while in case of the Alaknanda basin, the corresponding
values work out to be 4.24% and 3.54% in 13 years.
The reason for the decline of the forest cover and barren land may be due to the
increasing agricultural practices, population pressure and construction activities
in the basins. There are positive changes in agricultural lands by 6.39% and 6.40%
in the Subansiri and the Alaknanda basin respectively to fulfil the needs of rising
population and their livelihood. The NDVI shows high vegetation indices in both
the basins (0.97 in Subansiri and 0.91in Alaknanda). From the study, anthropogenic
activities are found to be comparatively more pronounced in the Alaknanda basin
as compared to the Subansiri basin.
