Land use / land cover change detection analysis through geospatial technology in Jhansi district of Bundelkhand region

Abstract

The term Land Use relates tothe human activity associated with specific of land for example areas under settlement, agriculture, forest, vegetation etc. The cumulative pressure on land for food and wood, the natural balance of soil and environment is affected by deforestation activities which causes serious problem of land degradation. The present study is focused on the changing Land Use / Land Cover practices. “These land use and land cover data are very important for land resource management, planners, and decision makers” (Ndukwe, 1997). In this study has been studied Land use / Land cover change detection of Jhansi district over a period of 12 years. Landsat TM and Landsat ETM + data from U S Geological Survey (1996, 2008) and Survey of India toposheets (2006) have been used for the delineation of classes and district boundary. A study of spatial and temporal changes in Land use / Land cover (LULC) is conducted using Remote Sensing and GIS techniques. ArcGIS 9.3 and ERDAS Imagine 9.2 interface were used for preparing LULC and change detection. The study area is categorized into eight foremost LULC classes viz., built-up land, cropland, fallow land, dense forest and open forest, barren land, sandbar, water bodies. Land use / land cover is very important aspects of land management and development planning of any region. There for, it has broadly been explained and considered as a very imperative element of physical input for agricultural development and land use sustainability.