ANALYSIS OF LAND USE / LAND COVER AND CHANGE DETECTION USING REMOTE SENSING AND GIS: A CASE STUDY

Abstract

Among the major natural resources, land forms a vital non-renewable resource, the amount of which remains constant in spite of the tremendously increasing population. The ever increasing population is exerting a huge pressure on the available natural resources, the amount of which is depleting swiftly owing to the higher rate of exploitation in the forms of agricultural practices, urbanization and economic development. In wake of this many studies are being carried out globally to identify the types of land use and land cover and the changes happening in this field. An attempt is made here in this direction. The present study aims to identify the land use and land cover features of Vanathangarai water shed of River Noyyal. Also the change matrix of the LULC was done for three time periods spanning over 28 years. For the study, remote sensing data was used to derive the landscape features and it was analyzed and mapped using GIS techniques. LANDSAT TM 8 OLI imageries were used as data base. For the LULC classification, NRSC level 1 classification system was followed. The study has revealed a decline in area under forest and wasteland cover and an increase in area under built up activities.