S. Vazeed Pasha

Quantification and monitoring of deforestation in India over eight decades (1930–2013)

There is still large uncertainty over the status of global forest cover owing to the paucity of comprehensive and holistic studies related to long term forest cover change. The aim of the present work is to prepare a nation-wide multi-date forest cover database which describes and quantifies historical and recent changes in natural forests of India. This analysis facilitated the determination of the state of Indian forest cover changes over last eight decades. Here, we have mapped the total area under forest cover, evaluated the spatial tracking of changes in natural forests, estimated the rate of deforestation and afforestation, analysed the biogeographic zone wise and state wise forest cover change, existing land use in deforested area, influence of environmental factors such as terrain on deforestation and implication of different definitions of forest used by agencies reporting deforestation in India. The results indicated that forests covered an area of 869,012xa0km2 in 1930 which has decreased to 625,565xa0km2 in 2013, a net loss of 243,447xa0km2 (28xa0%) in eight decades. The highest annual average forest loss was found to be 4795xa0km2 during 1930–1975, 1476xa0km2 during 1975–1985, 767xa0km2 during 1985–1995, 356xa0km2 during 1995–2005 and 209xa0km2 during 2005–2013. Between 1930 and 1975, forest experienced large scale deforestation at gross annual rate of 0.77xa0% which has declined to 0.29xa0% and 0.14xa0% for the 1975–1985 and 1985–1995 periods respectively. Quantification of annual rate of gross deforestation for the recent period indicates 0.07xa0% during 1995–2005 and 0.05xa0% during 2005–2013. The lower rates of deforestation during recent period support effectiveness of conservation measures taken at national level. It was found that deforestation rate has decreased in many biogeographic zones by 2005, except for Andaman & Nicobar Islands and North East. The major deforestation has mostly occurred due to conversion of forests to agriculture. The construction of reservoirs contributed to 4.1xa0% of forest loss. The tropical forests have experienced large scale deforestation followed by subtropical forests. The findings of the study will be useful to prioritize conservation and protection of forest cover at the regional level. It shall also provide a base for future research on the impacts of deforestation on carbon flux and biodiversity.

Quantifying nationwide land cover and historical changes in forests of Nepal (1930–2014): implications on forest fragmentation

This study quantifies the nationwide land cover and long-term changes in forests and its implications on forest fragmentation in Nepal. The multi-source datasets were used to generate the forest cover information for 1930, 1975, 1985, 1995, 2005 and 2014. This study analyzes distribution of land cover, rate of deforestation, changes across forest types, forest canopy density and pattern of fragmentation. The land cover legend for 2014 is consisting of 21 classes: tropical dry deciduous sal forest, tropical moist deciduous sal forest, subtropical broad-leaved forest, subtropical pine forest, lower temperate broad leaved forest, upper temperate broad leaved forest, lower temperate mixed broad leaved forest, upper temperate mixed broad leaved forest, temperate needle leaved forest, subalpine forest, plantations, tropical scrub, subtropical scrub, temperate scrub, alpine scrub, grassland, agriculture, water bodies, barren land and settlements. The forest cover statistics for Nepal obtained in this study shows an area of 76,710xa0km2 in 1930 which has decreased to 39,392xa0km2 in 2014. A net loss of 37,318xa0km2 (48.6%) was observed in last eight decades. Analysis of annual rate of net deforestation for the recent period indicates 0.01% during 2005–2014. An increase in the number of forest patches from 6925 (in 1930) to 42,961 (in 2014) was noticed. The significant observation is 75.5% of reduction in core 3 forest, whereas, patch, perforated and edge classes show the increase in percentage of fragmentation classes from 1930 to 2014. The results of this work will support the understanding of deforestation and its consequences on fragmentation for maintaining and improving the forest resources of Nepal.

Assessment of Land Cover Change Hotspots in Gulf of Kachchh, India Using Multi-Temporal Remote Sensing Data and GIS

Remote sensing is an indispensable tool for assessing and monitoring land use/land cover changes and supports in planning appropriate conservation measures. This study has analysed the status and distribution of different land use/land cover from 1977 to 2015 and identified the land use/land cover change hotspots in Gulf of Kachchh region, India. The total mangrove area has increased from 140.5xa0km2 to 700.2xa0km2 from 1977 to 2015. Among all the different time periods the highest rate of mangrove expansion was found between 2008 to 2011. The results indicate that during the past four decades, mangrove, salt pans and built-up land have been increased by 79.9xa0%, 84xa0% and 93.8xa0% respectively. About 21.4xa0km2 of mangroves was converted to salt pans and built-up land from 1977 to 2015. Annual rate of afforestation was estimated as 7.01, 12.58, 16.03 and 4.73 for 1999–2006, 2006–2008, 2008–2011 and 2011–2015. Hotspot analysis has identified 33 positive and 11 negative change land cover hotspots in Gulf of Kachchh. Strict management policies are required to prevent further loss of mangroves and conservation of ecologically unique ecosystem of Gulf of Kachchh.

Geospatial characterization of deforestation, fragmentation and forest fires in Telangana state, India: conservation perspective

Conservation of biodiversity has been put to the highest priority throughout the world. The process of identifying threatened ecosystems will search for different drivers related to biodiversity loss. The present study aimed to generate spatial information on deforestation and ecological degradation indicators of fragmentation and forest fires using systematic conceptual approach in Telangana state, India. Identification of ecosystems facing increasing vulnerability can help to safeguard the extinctions of species and useful for conservation planning. The technological advancement of satellite remote sensing and Geographical Information System has increased greatly in assessment and monitoring of ecosystem-level changes. The areas of threat were identified by creating grid cells (5xa0×xa05xa0km) in Geographical Information System (GIS). Deforestation was assessed using multi-source data of 1930, 1960, 1975, 1985, 1995, 2005 and 2013. The forest cover of 40,746xa0km2, 29,299xa0km2, 18,652xa0km2, 18,368xa0km2, 18,006xa0km2, 17,556xa0km2 and 17,520xa0km2 was estimated during 1930, 1960, 1975, 1985, 1995, 2005 and 2013, respectively. Historical evaluation of deforestation revealed that major changes had occurred in forests of Telangana and identified 1095 extinct, 397 critically endangered, 523 endangered and 311 vulnerable ecosystem grid cells. The fragmentation analysis has identified 307 ecosystem grid cells under critically endangered status. Forest burnt area information was extracted using AWiFS data of 2005 to 2014. Spatial analysis indicates total fire-affected forest in Telangana as 58.9xa0% in a decadal period. Conservation status has been recorded depending upon values of threat for each grid, which forms the basis for conservation priority hotspots. Of existing forest, 2.1xa0% grids had severe ecosystem collapse and had been included under the category of conservation priority hotspot-I, followed by 27.2xa0% in conservation priority hotspot-II and 51.5xa0% in conservation priority hotspot-III. This analysis complements assessment of ecosystems undergoing multiple threats. An integrated approach involving the deforestation and degradation indicators is useful in formulating the strategies to take appropriate conservation measures.

Spatio-temporal changes associated with natural and anthropogenic factors in wetlands of Great Rann of Kachchh, India

Studies about wetlands have been identified as a key component of environmental change. The present study assesses the spatio-temporal changes in the wetlands of the Great Rann of Kachchh, in the Kachchh Biosphere Reserve, India, using remote sensing and GIS techniques. Satellite time-series data from Landsat (1977, 1990 and 1999) and IRS P6 (2006, 2008–2012) were used. The Normalised Difference Water Index (NDWI) was derived for each year and the layers were manually edited to obtain a high classification accuracy. The analysis found that the area has undergone considerable change from 1977 to 2011. The natural wetland area of 30.6xa0km2 was converted to salt pans. An area of about 255xa0km2 (41.6xa0%) of natural grassland was invaded by Prosopisjuliflora, which raises further conservation concerns and emphasises the importance of having intervention plans to manage this ecosystem. The highest water spread of 1171xa0km2 was observed in September 2011, followed by 2010, 2009 and 2008 in the same month. The present study is useful in planning the long-term management and conservation of the Great Rann of Kachchh wetland.