Land use land cover change in Kashmir Himalaya: Linking remote sensing with an indicator based DPSIR approach

Abstract

Abstract One of the most dominant forces responsible for changing the global landscape cover includes the changes in Land Use and Land Cover (LULC). These changes are initiated by a string of forces that are interconnected with each other. This study has been done to focus primarily on various LULC changes that have occurred in the Southern part of Kashmir Himalaya and at the same time study the factors governing these. A 27-year period of study has been selected from 1990 to 2017, the main focus being to characterize these forces and link them with the statistics obtained from remotely sensed data. The cause and effect relationship between various indicators of land use change were analyzed using Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) assessment framework. This framework was applied to have a comprehensive view of interactions between human society and the environment. The goal has been achieved by using satellite based data, questionnaire based survey and an in depth analysis of data obtained from various secondary sources. The study finds out the major land use changes occur in a few selected classes, with cropland agriculture losing the most (−5%) whereas economically fruitful horticulture gaining the most (+4.29%) during the study period. The LULC changes have been driven by various forces ranging from natural, demographic and economic resulting in pressures on land and having various environmental ramifications and ultimately focus on responses. Strict land use planning needs to be implemented in Kashmir Himalayas to ensure ecologically fragile environment’s food security and sustainability. A much more in depth study of human environment interactions and complex relationships will be needed to understand these complex systems.