Linking Spatio-Temporal Land Cover Change to Biodiversity Conservation in the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Nepal

Abstract

Land cover change has been one of the major drivers of change leading to an alteration of critical habitats for many of the threatened species worldwide. Species with a narrow range and specialized habitats such as wetland ecosystems are at higher risk. The present paper describes spatial and temporal land use and cover change over the period of last 34 years in the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve (KTWR), Nepal. High spatial resolution Indian Remote-Sensing Satellite (IRS) Linear Imaging and Self Scanning Sensor (LISS-4) from 2005 and medium spatial resolution Landsat Multispectral Scanner (MSS) from 1976; Thematic Mapper (TM) from 1989; Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) from 1999 and TM from 2010 were used to generate a land use/land cover map and change analysis. Acquired IRS LISS-4 and Landsat image was orthorectified into Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM), Zone 45 based on generated digital terrain model (DTM) from a topographic map and Ground Control Point (GCP) from the field. After rectifying all the images, eCognition developer software was used for object-based image analysis (OBIA). The change in the land cover and land use types were compared with the potential habitat of twenty globally significant species present in the reserve. The habitat information was collected from the literature and a map was prepared based on 'presence' data, habits and habitats used to identify their distribution pattern. The analysis revealed that the KTWR has gone through significant changes in land cover and ecosystems over the last 34 years due to the change in river course and anthropogenic pressure leading to direct change in habitats of the species. Forests have been reduced by 94% from their original state whereas the grassland has increased by 79% from its original state. On the basis of total land cover, forests, river and stream, swamp and marshes decreased by 16%, OPEN ACCESSDiversity 2013, 5 336 14% and 3% respectively over the last 34 years whereas the grassland has increased by 45%. These ecosystems are also an important habitat for the majority of the species, which is resulting in habitat loss. Notably, the wetland ecosystems (marshes/swamps and river/streams), being one of the most important habitat for many globally threatened species, have changed by more than 30% from their original state in 1976. Based on the analysis, recommendations for management interventions were made.

Implications of land cover change on ecosystems services and people’s dependency: A case study from the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Nepal

“…This has a direct impact on biodiversity of the reserve, especially the globally threatened species with limited habitat range such as Swamp Francolin, Ganges River dolphin and Wild water buffalo. Chettri et al (2013) and Chaudhary (2007) already noted degradation of ecosystems and the likely consequences for globally threatened species with limited habitat range in the reserve.…”

“…It has subtropical monsoon climate with temperatures between 3.3 C and 33.4 C, and annual rainfall of 2019 mm with spring, summer/monsoon, autumn and winter as four distinct seasons (DNPWC, 2000(DNPWC, , 2009. It has an intricate mosaic of land covers namely grassland, swamp and marshes, forest, river, sand/gravel, and agriculture (Chettri et al, 2013). The reserve's ecosystem is characterized by mixed deciduous riverine forest dominated by Sisso (Dalbergia sissoo), Khair (Acacia catechu), and Simal (Bombax ceiba) while grassland ecosystem is dominated by Phragmitis, Saccharum, Typha, Imperata and Cymbopogon species (DNPWC, 2009).…”

“…Subsistence agriculture, livestock rearing and remittance are the major livelihood strategies with agriculture being practiced by 87.3% of the total households, and with 1.5 cattle per household (CSUWN, 2009;ICIMOD and MoFSC, 2014). In spite of conservation and development efforts, the wetland biodiversity of the reserve is still under threat causing continuous degradation to ecosystems and species diversity (Chettri et al, 2013). The reserve area, excluding buffer zone, was focused in this study, to analyze the reserve's capacity to supply ecosystem services.…”

The Impact of Climate Change on Biodiversity in Nepal: Current Knowledge, Lacunae, and Opportunities

“…Deforestation is still a major problem in the Siwalik and Terai region. In Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, a Ramsar site in eastern Terai, forest area declined 94% from 1976 to 2010 [97].…”

Effective Management of Trans boundary Landscapes – Geospatial Applications

“…Little is known about the extent of such changes in the remote parts of the identified transboundary landscapes. The programme has mapped multi-temporal land cover of KSL, Kangchenjunga Landscape (KL) and BSL using widely recognized Geographic Object-Based Image Analysis (GEOBIA) method (Bajracharya et al, 2010;Chettri et al, 2013;Uddin et al, 2014) that uses a multi-resolution segmentation technique. To predict the land change with past decadal trends, IDRISI's land change modeller has been applied.…”