Analysis of land use land cover changes in Thirthahalli taluk using remote sensing and GIS

Abstract

Mapping and monitoring of land use land cover is essential for many management and planning activities as it is considered as an important element for understanding the earth and its whole system. The present study focused on the utilization of remote sensing and GIS technology for land use land cover classification and its change analysis for local areas like Thirthahalli over the period of two decades. Multitemporal satellite imagery of the Landsat series was used to map land use land cover changes in the years 1997 and 2017. Supervised classification using Maximum Likelihood technique was used resulting in the classes: forest, agricultural plantations, agricultural croplands, wastelands, water bodies and settlement areas. The study showed the major changes occurred in forest, agricultural plantations and settlement classes. Modifications in the pattern of agricultural activities are the main reasons for the changes in land use land cover distributions in the study area during the study period. Keywords: LULC; Change Detection; Remote Sensing; GIS; Thirthahalli