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Landscape elements respond to the processes acting on them, and this response connects with neighboring landscape units. The propagation, superposition, and interference of these responses are functions of the connectivity among the landscape units. Such landscape units are referred to as 'Connectivity Response Units' or CRUs that are in turn influenced by topography and landuse/landcover (LULC). The CRUs are obtained by the application of diffusion-kernel based smoothing technique over the connectivity potential maps. A framework has been designed using the CRUs to understand the impacts of changing LULC on the connectivity structure in a relatively flat terrain under pre-and post-monsoon scenarios. The proposed framework has been applied to a water-stressed wetland occurring in an interfan setting in north Bihar plains, eastern India. It has also been demonstrated that CRUs can be used as a viable option for understanding the seasonal and temporal dynamics of connectivity structure in and around such wetlands and for guiding a rehabilitation strategy for such fragile ecosystems.

Geomorphic processes operate at multiple spatio‐temporal scales and different levels of hierarchy. It is therefore necessary to understand the linkages of landscapes across various scales and levels to gain insights into their interactions and feedbacks. Connectivity is an emergent property of the hydro‐geomorphic systems, and it is gradually evolving into a unifying concept in geomorphology. The connectivity approach has the potential to be applied extensively to diverse hydro‐geomorphic systems of India to understand their complexity as well as for designing effective management practices for river systems and wetlands, optimizing water resources for agriculture, and monitoring and restoration of habitats. Studies on connectivity, particularly in geomorphic context, have been growing steadily in India, albeit at a much slower pace compared to the global trends. This article undertakes a brief overview of the global developments particularly in terms of providing some clarity among the different types of geomorphic connectivity and their inter‐relationships and feedbacks. We then take stock of the connectivity research in India in recent years as applied in different hydrogeomorphic systems across the country. We utilize a number of Indian case studies to illustrate the important developments and applications of connectivity concepts, and also present future perspective of this important field with special relevance to India. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Wetlands are dynamic ecosystems that require continuous monitoring and assessment of degradation status to design strategies for their sustainable management.While hydrology provides the primary functional control for the wetland ecosystem, the loss of landscape connectivity influences wetland degradation in a major way as it leads to fragmentation. This article aims to integrate hydrogeomorphic and ecological concepts for the assessment of degradation status and its causal factors for a large wetland in the western Ganga plains, India, the Haiderpur, using a wetlandscape approach. We have used a remote-sensing-based approach, which offers a powerful tool for assessing and linking cross-scale structures, functions, and controls in a wetlandscape. The Haiderpur, a Ramsar site since December 2021, is an artificial wetland located on the right bank of the Ganga River wherein the inflows are controlled by a barrage constructed on the Ganga River apart from smaller tributaries flowing in from the north. A novel aspect of this work is the integration of river dynamics and its connectivity to the wetlandscape to understand the spatiotemporal variability in the waterspread area in the wetland. In this work, we have developed an integrated wetlandscape assessment approach by evaluating wetland's geomorphic and hydrological connectivity status for the period 1993-2019 (25 years) across three different spatial scalesregional, catchment, and wetland. We have highlighted the ecological implications of connectivity and patch dynamics for developing sustainable wetland management plans.

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Wetlands are one of the most important ecological environments that also have high socio-economic importance. India hosts a large number of wetlands, among which most are in the Indo-Gangetic Plains formed by riverine processes. In order to understand the extensive system of riverine wetlands and their distinction from other floodplain water bodies, mainly the waterlogged areas, a mapping and classification system has been proposed and applied for wetlands in the Begusarai district of north Bihar plains, India. The proposed hydro-geomorphic classification system is hierarchical, simple, and robust, and can be implemented through quick processing of satellite images integrated with minimal ancillary data.