Land Cover/Land Use Change and Fragmentation in Uttarakhand, the Western Himalaya Based on GlobeLand30 Datasets

Abstract

Globally, a widespread decline of the forest ecosystems and increasing fragmentation has been reported, yet there is no comprehensive assessment of degradation across the country. In this study, land cover change and fragmentation from 2000 to 2010 were analyzed for the state of Uttarakhand, using GlobeLand30 datasets at 30-m spatial resolution (GlobeLand30) developed by the National Geomatics Center of China (NGCC). Further, spatial patterns were analyzed, focusing on forest loss and patch matrices. The results show that during the last decade, vegetation cover has reduced by 523 km2, whereas the artificial surface has increased by 103 km2. Also, the fragmentation analyses show that the intact forests have reduced about 105 km2 resulting in more open and patchy forests. The paper also highlights the effectiveness of using global land cover datasets and digital techniques for monitoring the forest structure spanning over vast areas and to see the effectiveness of management policies in the long run.