Firoz Ahmad

Geospatial Approach for Agroforestry Suitability Mapping: to Enhance Livelihood and Reduce Poverty, FAO Based Documented Procedure (Case Study of Dumka District, Jharkhand, India)

Agroforestry has the capacity to reduce the poverty, enhance livelihood, improve food security and mitigate the climate change impact. The agroforestry suitability mapping is performed using geospatial technology based on similar guideline documented by FAO for Land suitability mapping. The study aims for applying remote sensing and GIS technology towards various spatial (soil and environmental) datasets in Dumka district of Jharkhand, India to achieve a nutrient availability and agroforestry suitability map. The Landsat satellite data, ASTER DEM and decadal annual rainfall datasets were utilized to generate wetness, landuse/ land cover (LULC), elevation, slope, and rainfall map. LULC map was utilized to identify the open area land in which agroforestry suitability was evaluated. Various thematic layers such as soil nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), organic carbon (C), pH and sulphur (S) were used for generating nutrient availability map. The agroforestry suitability map was generated utilizing the layers viz. nutrient availability, slope, wetness, rainfall and elevation by GIS integration/modeling in ArcGIS 10.1 software by providing different weight to each thematic layer as per its importance in the study area. The thematic layer weight was calculated based on pairwise comparisons (a standard statistical procedure). Finally agroforestry suitability maps were generated in the form of high, medium and low grid with spacing (1km × 1km). We also generated poverty map, one of the complete watersheds in the part of the study area and drainage map in whole study area to understand its proximity toward high agroforestry suitability grid. The study shows that the total open area land grids were 3421 out of which 50% of grid was found to be highly suitable towards agroforestry. Furthermore a watershed, drainage pattern and poverty map were analyzed based on its proximity toward high agroforestry suitability. The study reveals high agroforestry suitability land grid proximity towards high poverty grid was approximately more than 70%, whereas the proximity to the drainage pattern was roughly 60%. One of the completed watershed in the part of the study area evaluation reveals approximately 50% of the watershed area grid has the proximity of high agroforestry suitable land grid. The high agroforestry suitability and its proximity/relationship with high poverty, drainage pattern and in watershed based analysis provides golden opportunity to the local poor people to harness agroforestry practices by adopting intensive soil and water conservation measures if supported by sufficient funds/technology will largely help in mitigating poverty and enhancing the livelihood. The ongoing agroforestry projects can be further extended in the open areas of high agroforestry suitability grid for long term benefits of diversified output.

Analysis of Urban Sprawl Dynamics Using Geospatial Technology in Ranchi City, Jharkhand, India

Abstract The availability of remote sensing satellite data at various spatial, temporal and spectral resolutions provides enormous opportunity to map the urban sprawl. When coupled with Geographic Information System (GIS) it is possible to evaluate, analyse and integrate large data. We need to understand and quantify the urban sprawl on spatial and temporal scales which forms a basis for better planning and sustainable management of cities and towns. The city of Ranchi has witnessed unprecedented urban growth after assuming the status of a capital of Jharkhand state, India in 2000. The increasing population has put pressure on the natural resources of the city. The urban growth has been in a haphazard manner at the cost of agricultural lands, forest land and open green spaces such as park, garden and recreational forestry. The present study analysed the urban sprawl in Ranchi city, using Landsat data from 1976, 2002 and 2015. The study revealed that the annual urban growth rate was 1.76 ha/yr over the period from 1976 to 2002 whereas the annual growth rate was 2 ha/yr over the period from 2002 to 2015. The northern side of the city has witnessed more expansion in 2002 when compared with the growth in 1976. Increase in urban density was seen at the distances of 3, 4,5,6,7 and 8km between 1976 and 2015 and the rate was higher than 25%.The driving factors of the development were infrastructure, educational and business expansion. Thus, spatial analyses of urban sprawl are a prerequisite for curbing the unplanned urban growth and ensure sustainable living.

Land Evaluation in terms of Agroforestry Suitability, an Approach to Improve Livelihood and Reduce Poverty: A FAO based Methodology by Geospatial Solution: A case study of Palamu district, Jharkhand, India

Agroforestry has enormous potential for reducing the poverty, enhancing the livelihood, improving the food security and mitigating the climate change. The agroforestry suitability mapping is performed using remote sensing and GIS technology based on a similar guideline issued by FAO for Land suitability mapping. The study aims at applying the geospatial tools to various soil and environmental data in the Palamu district of Jharkhand, India, to achieve a nutrient availability and agroforestry suitability map in the open area. The Landsat satellite data, ASTER DEM and dec- adal annual rainfall data were used to generate wetness, land use/land cover (LULC), elevation, slope, and rainfall maps. The LULC map was used to identify/mask the open land where agroforestry suitability was evaluated. Various layers such as soil nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), organic carbon (C), pH and sulphur (S) were used to generate a nutrient availability map. The agro- forestry suitability surface was generated using the layers viz. nutrient availability, slope, wetness, rainfall and elevation through GIS integration in the ArcGIS 10.1 platform by assigning different weights to each thematic layer as per its importance. The thematic layer weight was calculated based on statistical analysis (pairwise comparisons). Finally, agroforestry suitability maps were generated in the form of high, medium and low grids with 1km x 1km spacing. We also generated a poverty map, a map for one of the complete watersheds covering a specific part of the study area and a drainage map for the whole study area to understand its relationship/ proximity to a high agroforestry suitability grid. A total of 3334 open-area grids were identified, 62% of which were found to be highly suitable for agroforestry. Furthermore, watersheds, drainage and poverty maps were evaluated based on its proximity to agroforestry suitability. The study reveals that the proximity of the high agroforestry suitability land grid towards the high poverty grid was approximately more than 80%, whereas the proximity to the drainage pattern was roughly 70%. Evaluation of the complete watershed covering part of the study area reveals that approximately 60% of the watershed area grid has the proximity of a high agroforestry suitable land grid. The high agroforestry suitability and its proximity to high poverty, drainage pattern and watershed-based analysis offer oppor- tunities for local people to use agroforestry in soil and water conservation practices, provided they are supported by adequate funds and technology, and will greatly contribute to poverty alleviation and an increase of the livelihood. The ongoing agroforestry projects can be further extended in open areas of a high agroforestry suitability grid for long-term benefits. The research findings are of great importance as the majority of people in rural areas in India suffer from poverty and too small livelihood. Therefore, India has adopted the agroforestry policy that exploits its potential. The government needs to extend and imple- ment agroforestry projects accordingly. There is an urgent need to assess and analyse such problems and to generate a village-to-state map to better understand the potential of land for agroforestry, which would strengthen the efforts of policy makers to create better and sustainable future.

Assessment of Threats to Forest Ecosystems Using Geospatial Technology in Jharkhand State of India

Conservation of forest biodiversity is vital for mankind as it provides enormous benefits such as biological resources and ecosystem services. Of late, the forests are facing risk and threats such as fragmentation, degradation and forest fires which are responsible for the deteriorating condition. The progress in the field of science and technology like satellite remote sensing and GIS since the past few decades in India and the world provide an opportunity to track and monitor the changes taking place on the Earth’s surface. Besides, analysis of large spatial data in GIS can also provide insight into the various driving factors which lead to the loss of biodiversity in the threatened ecosystems i.e forests. This study has attempted to obtain information about the spatial extent of the three forest ecosystem degradation indicators viz. deforestation, fragmentation of forest and forest fires using methodical approach in the Jharkhand state of India. The satellite remote sensing data sets belonging to Landsat-8 were used to analyse the forest cover of Jharkhand state.To identify the areas of threat, grid cells (5KmX5Km) were generated in GIS domain. Analysis of deforestation was conducted using multi source data of the time periods 1935 and 2015. Evaluation of deforestation spanning over a time period reveals that vital changes have occurred in the forests of Jharkhand and determined 1224 extinct, 248 critically endangered, 318 endangered and 396 vulnerable ecosystem grid cells. The fragmentation analysis has determined 148 critically endangered, 296 endangered and 402 vulnerable ecosystem grid cells. Forest fire point’s data from the year 2005 to 2016 were utilized and analysis was executed. Further frequency of forest fires for each grid was noted. The result indicates that 67.3% of grid cell of Jharkhand forest was affected with forest fire. Conservation status has been evaluated based on the value of threat for each grid which was the fundamental criteria for conservation priority hotspot. About 2.1% of Jharkhand forest ecosystem grids are defined as extremely high ecosystem risk stage and have been designated in the category of conservation priority hotspot-1 followed by 19.7% conservation priority hotspot-2, 41.3% conservation priority hotspot-3, 27.8% conservation priority hotspot-4 and 9.1% lowest conservation priority hotspot-5. This study highlights the capability of integrating remote sensing and GIS data for mapping the forest degradation, which can be useful in formulating the strategies and policies for protection and conservation of forests. Article history Received: 11 June 2017 Accepted: 14 August 2017

FAO guidelines and geospatial application for agroforestry suitability mapping: case study of Ranchi, Jharkhand state of India

Agroforestry has potential for achieving agricultural sustainability having capacity of optimizing its productivity by mitigating climate change impacts. The aim was to find such land patches which can be potentially mapped as suitable and fertile for agroforestry projects and to find out land-use systems which can play a pivotal role in poverty eradication and climate change mitigation. The study aims for applying geo-spatial technology towards visualizing various land, soil, climate and topographical data to reveal trends and interrelationships and to find a nutrient availability and agroforestry suitability map. FAO based land suitability criteria was adopted to generate agroforestry suitability maps based upon scientifically evaluated weight factors at GIS platform by integrating layers of LULC, NDVI, wetness factor, elevation, slope percent, drainage, watershed, rainfall, organic carbon, pH and nutrient status. About 6% of land is under cultivation of pure agriculture whereas the study area has agroforestry suitability of 32.8% of total area. Block wise agroforestry suitability reveals highly suitable percentage for Rahe, Bundu and Namkum blocks as 79.1, 56.5 and 1.1%, respectively. Based on high suitability percentage Rahe block among all should be prioritized. Therefore, if there is scientific planning with adequate technical inputs, the area can achieve tremendous scope for tribal and rural people in generating their livelihood. Such finding may work as guiding tool for the policymakers towards allocation of fund for agroforestry projects. The advance GIS modeling software has the potential to map such area logically and meaningfully.

Agroforestry suitability mapping of India: geospatial approach based on FAO guidelines

Agroforestry system has the enormous capacity to achieve social, economic, and environmental goals by optimizing land productivity. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the land potentiality in India for agroforestry based on FAO land suitability criteria utilizing various land, soil, climate, and topographic themes. This was achieved in GIS Domain by integrating various thematic layers scientifically. The analysis of land potentiality in India for agroforestry suitability reveals 32.8% as highly suitable (S1), 40.4% moderately suitable (S2), 11.7% marginally suitable (S3), and 9.1% not suitable (NS). About 52% of land of India is under the cropland category. In addition, it revealed that the 46% of these cropland areas fall into high agroforestry suitable category “S1,” and provide huge opportunity for harnessing agroforestry practices. Furthermore, agroforestry suitability mapping in broad ecosystem and in different agroecological regions will assist various projects in India at the regional level. Such results will also boost the various objectives of the National Agroforestry Policy (2014, http://www.cafri.res.in/NAF_Policy.pdf) and policymakers of India where they need to extend it. The potential of geospatial technology can be exploited in the field of agroforestry for the benefit of rural poor people/farmers by ensuring food and ecological security, resilience in livelihoods, and can sustain extreme weather events such as droughts and climate change impact. Such type of research can be replicated in India at village level (local level) to state level (regional level) utilizing the significant themes which affect the agroforestry suitability. This will certainly fetch better results on ground and will significantly assist the management programs.

A geospatial analysis of climate variability and its impact on forest fire: a case study in Orissa state of India

The dynamic changes of forest fire events are due to the swing of climate parameter. Geospatial technology has strong capability to analyze various thematic datasets towards visualization of spatial/temporal pattern and plays a vital role in fire management efforts. This paper aims to analyze the climate and forest fire trend using Geospatial technology in the state of Orissa of India. The 84.5% of forest fire events are observed in the month of March and April and it is significantly high in the south of Kandhamal, east of Kalahandi, north of Rayagada and north of Gajapati district. The parameters which favour the forest fire events in the month of March onwards were observed. The Maximum temperature is showing an increasing trend from February to June whereas the increase is significantly high during March and April. The solar radiation increased to 144% in the month of March when compared with preceding month whereas relative humidity was decreased to 64% in the same month. The evaluation of Cramer V coefficient values of minimum temperature, solar radiation, maximum temperature and relative humidity are found to be 0.302, 0.327, 0.366 and 0.482 respectively. The relative humidity shows strong relationship with fire events. Such data analysis would help in safeguarding the forest.

Geospatial application for agroforestry suitability mapping based on FAO guideline: case study of Lohardaga, Jharkhand State of India

In view of climate change scenario, the increasing population, higher food demand and deteriorating land productivity are the key issues which need to be addressed in present time frame because it will be more critical in the future. The scientific evaluation of land for agroforestry is a step towards sustainability for achieving the socio-economic and environmental goal of the community. The objective of the present study was to investigate the suitability of land use/land cover of Lohardaga district of state of Jharkhand, India for agroforestry use based on FAO land suitability criteria utilizing Landsat-8 images (NDVI/wetness), ASTER DEM (elevation/slope/drainage and watershed), ancillary data source (rainfall/organic carbon/pH and nutrient status). The analysis of our study for agroforestry suitability reveals that 50.5% area as highly suitable (S1), 28.2% area as moderately suitable (S2), 20% area as marginally suitable (S3) and 1.3% area as not suitable (NS). Only 2.9% of the total land area is dominated by two season crop which is a matter of serious concern. The statistical analysis of the results reveals that the lands have huge potentiality for harnessing agroforestry crops if utilized scientifically. Such results will greatly help to the state level policymakers for achieving the national agroforestry policy goal for extending it to the new areas in the districts of Jharkhand.

Spatial Analysis of Wildlife Habitat around Madihan forests of Mirzapur district, Uttar Pradesh in India, using Geospatial Technology

Abstract The tropical dry deciduous forests of Mirzapur district in Uttar Pradesh (state) in India are facing to severe threat from agricultural expansion, increased urbanisation, infrastructure development and unsustainable use of forest produce. The forests are nowadays fragmented and wildlife habitat is vanishing. Decreasing numbers of wild animal species requires using methods for preventing the loss of biodiversity. The present study concerns analysis of satellite remote sensing data of Landsat OLI (2013) in conjunction with Geographic Information System (GIS) and support of Geographic Positioning System (GPS) to identify suitable habitat for wild animals. The thematic maps regarding e.g. land use, forest cover type were prepared. The weighted overlay method was used for integration of the thematic layers for identification of potential habitat and corridors for wildlife movement. Most suitable (2.54%), moderately suitable (12.0%) and least suitable (16.20%) areas were delineated and represented in a map. Highly suitable habitat was found at Dadri and Kotwa forest; moderately suitable habitat was found in Darhi Ram forests. Least suitable areas were found in Kotwa and Patewar forests. Such data are the basis to assess the wildlife conservation measures.

Role of Geospatial technology in Crime Mapping: A case study of Jharkhand state of India

Crime is a social stigma which needs to be addressed beyond talks. In developed country Geospatial technology has become well established within the criminology and forensic fields in recent past. In order to achieve this proper database of various crimes (state/ district level) should be available for decision making. The present study was an attempt made to study the district wise crime data (IPC crime registered) for murder, rape, kidnapping, dacoity, burglary, theft and riots of state of Jharkhand for the year 2013 to understand the crime trend. We have generated various maps including crime density map of Jharkhand based on crime types using ARC/ GIS Software and MS EXCEL. The crime density such as murder, rape, kidnaping and riots were found in the range of (2.2 to 17.8), (1.6 to 12.6), (2.3 to 10.4) and (1.0 to 17.5) respectively. Murder crime density was highest in Gumla district whereas it was found to be lowest in Gridih district. Sahebganj district has high crime density for rape and kidnapping. Palamu district had low crime density in rape, whereas Ranchi district recorded low crime density in kidnapping. Crime density for riots was found lowest for district Simdega whereas highest for Koderma. The Indian police and law enforcement departments has not yet exploited the GIS aspect which will fetch better result as far as crime control is considered.