Land-use changes in Himalaya and their impact on the plains ecosystem: need for sustainable land use

Tiwari, Prakash C.

doi:10.1016/s0264-8377(00)00002-8

Cited by 129 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…The local community depends highly on agricultural activity, which would be further expected with a decline in forest cover. Other studies also found similar causes of forest decline in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region [49,[52][53][54]. Although natural drivers could also play a role in land cover change, the scope of this study mainly focused on anthropogenic activities.…”

Section: Land-use and Land-cover (Lulc) Changementioning

confidence: 90%

Assessment of Land-Use/Land-Cover Change and Forest Fragmentation in the Garhwal Himalayan Region of India

2017

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Abstract:The Garhwal Himalaya has experienced extensive deforestation and forest fragmentation, but data and documentation detailing this transformation of the Himalaya are limited. The aim of this study is to analyse the observed changes in land cover and forest fragmentation that occurred between 1976 and 2014 in the Garhwal Himalayan region in India. Three images from Landsat 2 Multispectral Scanner System (MSS), Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM), and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) were used to extract the land cover maps. A cross-tabulation detection method in the geographic information system (GIS) module was used to detect land cover changes during the 1st period (1976-1998) and 2nd period (1998-2014). The landscape fragmentation tool LFT v2.0 was used to construct a forest fragmentation map and analyse the forest fragmentation pattern and change during the 1st period and 2nd period (1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014). The overall annual rate of change in the forest cover was observed to be 0.22% and 0.27% in the 1st period and 2nd period (1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014), respectively. The forest fragmentation analysis shows that a large core forest has decreased throughout the study period. The total area of forest patches also increased from 1976 to 2014, which are completely degraded forests. The results indicate that anthropogenic activities are the main causes of the loss of forest cover and forest fragmentation, but that natural factors also contributed. An increase in the area of scrub and barren land also contributed to the accumulation of wasteland or non-forest land in this region. Determining the trend and the rate of land cover conversion is necessary for development planners to establish a rational land use policy.

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Section: Land-use and Land-cover (Lulc) Changementioning

confidence: 90%

Assessment of Land-Use/Land-Cover Change and Forest Fragmentation in the Garhwal Himalayan Region of India

2017

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“…The natural resource base in the HKH region, particularly soil nutrients, water and biomass, has been steadily depleted over recent years, resulting in a significant decline in food production (Tiwari 2000;Andersen et al 2005). Increasing impacts of climate change have added to food insecurity, particularly in the Hindu-Kush Himalayan (HKH) region, where people are affected in both upstream and downstream areas (Chatterjee and Khadka 2013;Abbas 2009;World Bank 2009;ICIMOD 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Household food security in the face of climate change in the Hindu-Kush Himalayan region

et al. 2016

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This study attempts to understand local people's perceptions of climate change, its impacts on agriculture and household food security, and local adaptation strategies in the Hindu-Kush Himalayan (HKH) region, using data from 8083 households (HHs) from four river sub-basins (SBs), i.e. Upper Indus (Pakistan), Eastern Brahmaputra (India), Koshi (Nepal) and Salween and Mekong (China). The majority of households in SBs, in recent years, have perceived that there have been more frequent incidences of floods, landslides, droughts, livestock diseases and crop pests, and have attributed these to climate change. These changes have led to low agricultural production and income, particularly in Eastern Brahmaputra (EB) where a substantial proportion of HHs reported a decline in the production of almost all staple and cash crops, resulting in very low farm income. Consequently, households' dependency on external food items supplied from plain areas has increased, particularly in the Upper Indus (UI) and EB. After hazards, households face transitory food insecurity owing to damage to their local food systems and livelihood sources, and constrained food supply from other areas. To cope with these, HHs in SBs make changes in their farming practices and livestock management. In EB, 11 % of HHs took on new off-farm activities within the SB and in SM, 23 % of HHs chose outmigration as an adaptation strategy. Lastly, the study proposes policy instruments for attaining sustainable food security, based on agro-ecological potential and opportunities for increasing agricultural resilience and diversity of livelihoods.

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“…Although errors in the interpretation of spectral response and human bias exist [20,21], remote sensing remains to play key role in identifying and estimating deforested and reforested areas [22,23]. In the Himalayas, the application of remote sensing was introduced in the mid-1980s [24] to identify and analyze the Land Use Land Cover (LULC) pattern [25][26][27]. Through the analysis of the spatial and temporal patterns of deforestation and the identification of key variables related to deforestation, efforts are being made to identify the driving forces behind changes to forest cover [28][29][30][31][32].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping Deforestation and Forest Degradation Patterns in Western Himalaya, Pakistan

et al. 2016

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Abstract:The Himalayan mountain forest ecosystem has been degrading since the British ruled the area in the 1850s. Local understanding of the patterns and processes of degradation is desperately required to devise management strategies to halt this degradation and provide long-term sustainability. This work comprises a satellite image based study in combination with national expert validation to generate sub-district level statistics for forest cover over the Western Himalaya, Pakistan, which accounts for approximately 67% of the total forest cover of the country. The time series of forest cover maps (1990, 2000, 2010) reveal extensive deforestation in the area. Indeed, approximately 170,684 ha of forest has been lost, which amounts to 0.38% per year clear cut or severely degraded during the last 20 years. A significant increase in the rate of deforestation is observed in the second half of the study period, where much of the loss occurs at the western borders along with Afghanistan. The current study is the first systematic and comprehensive effort to map changes to forest cover in Northern Pakistan. Deforestation hotspots identified at the sub-district level provide important insight into deforestation patterns, which may facilitate the development of appropriate forest conservation and management strategies in the country.

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Land-use changes in Himalaya and their impact on the plains ecosystem: need for sustainable land use

Cited by 129 publications

References 6 publications

Assessment of Land-Use/Land-Cover Change and Forest Fragmentation in the Garhwal Himalayan Region of India

Assessment of Land-Use/Land-Cover Change and Forest Fragmentation in the Garhwal Himalayan Region of India

Household food security in the face of climate change in the Hindu-Kush Himalayan region

Mapping Deforestation and Forest Degradation Patterns in Western Himalaya, Pakistan

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