Migratory Birds Monitoring of India’s Largest Shallow Saline Ramsar Site with Big Geospatial Data Using Google Earth Engine for Restoration

Abstract

Globally, saline lakes occupying 23% by area 44% by volume among all the lakes might desiccate by 2025 due to agricultural diversion, illegal encroachment, pollution, and invasive species. India’s largest saline lake, Sambhar is currently shrinking at the rate of 4.23% due to illegal saltpan en-croachment. This research article aims to identify the trend of migratory birds and monthly wetland status. Birds survey was conducted for 2019, 2020 and 2021 and combined with literature data of 1994, 2003, and 2013 for visiting trend, feeding habit, migratory and resident ratio, and ecological diversity index analysis. Normalized Difference Water Index was scripted in Google Earth Engine. Results state that it has been suitable for 97 species. Highest NDWI values for the was whole study period was 0.71 in 2021 and lowest 0.008 in 2019 which is highly fluctuating. The decreasing trend of migratory birds coupled with decreasing water level indicates the dubious status for its existence. If the causal factors are not checked, it might completely desiccate by 2059 as per its future prediction. Certain steps are suggested that might help conservation. Least, the cost of restoration might exceed the revenue generation.