Land Use and Land Cover Dynamics and Assessing the Ecosystem Service Values in the Trans-Boundary Gandaki River Basin, Central Himalayas

Rai, Raju; Zhang, Yili; Paudel, Basanta; Acharya, Bipin Kumar; Basnet, Laxmi

doi:10.3390/su10093052

Cited by 85 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 94 publications

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“…The overall accuracy compares each classified pixel against the land cover obtained from corresponding ground truth [52,53]. Kappa statistics are used as a measure of agreement between reality and derived results [52] and were calculated using the equation that has been widely used in the previous LUCC studies [29,53,54]. The stratified random sampling method was used in this study to carry out the accuracy assessment of the classified data in Google Earth as well as in The classification was carried out using the object-based image analysis (OBIA) in the eCognition Developer 9.0 software.…”

Section: Accuracy Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The stratified random sampling method was used in this study to carry out the accuracy assessment of the classified data in Google Earth as well as in base imagery in ArcGIS. Google Earth is a freeware that provides high-resolution satellite imageries which act as an important reference for the validation of classification outputs [54] and has been widely used in many studies [29,36,[55][56][57][58][59][60]. A total of 901, 905 and 890 stratified random points were generated in the classified image of 2000, 2010 and 2017, respectively, and were verified in Google Earth imageries.…”

Section: Accuracy Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A total of 901, 905 and 890 stratified random points were generated in the classified image of 2000, 2010 and 2017, respectively, and were verified in Google Earth imageries. The topographical maps during 1992-2001 from the Survey Department, Government of Nepal were also used for data verification [29,59,61].…”

Section: Accuracy Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Xie et al [27] also updated and modified the coefficients of ESV for the TP based on Costanza's global ESV. These modified coefficients of ESV were used in the assessment of ESV in the Koshi [28] and Gandaki river basins [29]. Since the physiographic as well as the climatic conditions of the KRB are similar to the other two basins in Nepal, the same modified coefficient values were used to estimate the ESV in the KRB ( Table 2).…”

Section: Ecosystem Services Value Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The assessment and valuation of ecosystem services based on LUCC can be an important tool to raise awareness and convey the importance of ecosystem services [26]. Researchers have profoundly assessed the value of ecosystem services and studies have been conducted at the global scale [17,22] and regional scale (Tibetan Plateau, TP) [27], as well as at the national scale [28,29], to analyze the status, changes, and trends of ecosystem services [27,[30][31][32][33]. During 1997-2011, the loss in global ecosystem services due to LUCC was estimated to be $4.3-20.2 trillion [22].…”

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confidence: 99%

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Assessment of Ecosystem Services Value Based on Land Use and Land Cover Changes in the Transboundary Karnali River Basin, Central Himalayas

Shrestha

Khadka

2019

Sustainability

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Land use and land cover change (LUCC) and its spatio-temporal characteristics are essential for natural resource management and sustainable development. LUCC is one of the major factors that affect the ecosystem and the services it provides. In this study, we used remote sensing techniques and a geographical information system to extract the land cover categories based on the Object-Based Image Analysis (OBIA) technique from Landsat TM/ETM/OLI satellite images in the transboundary Karnali River Basin (KRB, China and Nepal) of central Himalayas from 2000 to 2017. Spatio-temporal integrated methodology-Tupu was used to spatially show the LUCC as well as spatial characteristics of the arisen Tupu and shrunken Tupu. In addition, the ecosystem services value (ESV) were obtained and analyzed for each land cover category. In 2017, forest covered the highest area (33.45%) followed by bare area (30.3%), shrub/grassland (18.49%), agriculture (13.12%), snow/ice (4.32%), waterbody (0.3%) and built-up area (0.04%) in the KRB. From 2000 to 2017, the areas of forest, waterbody and snow/ice have decreased by 0.59, 6.14, and 1072.1 km 2 , respectively. Meanwhile, the areas of shrub/grassland, agriculture, barren land, and built-up categories have increased by 82.21, 1.44, 991.97, and 3.11 km 2 , respectively. These changes in the land cover have led to an increase in the ESV of the basin, especially the increase in shrub/grassland, agriculture, and water bodies (in the higher elevation). The total ESV of the basin was increased by $1.59 × 10 6 from 2000 to 2017. Anthropogenic factors together with natural phenomena drive LUCC in the basin and thus the ESV. The findings of this study could facilitate the basin-level policy formulation to guide future conservation and development management interventions.Ecosystem function refers to the habitat, biological or system properties and physical processes that occur within or across the ecosystem [17]. Ecosystem services are the benefits humans reap from the ecosystem function [17][18][19] that includes provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting services [18,20]. In addition, the ecosystem function plays an important and multi-dimensional (ecological, socio-cultural and economic) role in the human society [21]. Ecosystem services do not directly flow from nature to human well-being, rather this occurs through the interaction with other forms of capital such as human capital (presence of human being), built capital (human built environment) and social capital (their community) [22]. Generally, the structure of the ecosystem is modified due to increased land use intensity and frequent changes in the land cover types. This results in changes in the ecosystem functions and the associated services it provides [23][24][25]. In recent decades, ecosystem services have been degrading due to an ever-increasing demand for these services, leading to a substantial and largely irreversible loss of natural and biological diversity life on earth [18]. The assessment and valuation of ecosystem ser...

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