1260 | 42 | Dynamics of Vegetation Cover in the high Himalayan Region

Climate change has been affecting various biophysical indicators in the recent decades. Changes in Biophysical indicators in the high Himalaya will further govern various socio economic phenomena directly dependent on land cover, land use, vegetation cover and also sensitive land surface temperature. Land Use Land Cover (LULC), Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Land Surface Temperature (LST) are some quintessential bio-physical parameters that have substantial impact on local environmental changes. The study aims to establish the relationship of LULC with various indices such as LST and NDVI all of which are noteworthy components to investigate about the changing landscape of an area. Landsat satellite images form the primary base of study along with secondary data sources which bind together the results. LULC, NDVI and LST were derived from Landsat data for 1980-2020. The spatial pattern were analyzed using Support Vector Machine (SVM) and a mono-window algorithm. The results of LULC denote that snow covered area (SCA) has decreased by nearly 56.19% since 1980 and vegetation cover has increased. The mean surface temperature of the Satluj basin has amplified by about 6.16°C (0.25/year) from 1996 to 2020. The increase in LST values is attributed to land cover dynamics precisely the decline of snow cover area and the emergence of vegetation zone at higher above the 4500 altitudes. The findings of the study will help understand various biophysical indicators amid climate change scenario in the high mountain environment and will be helpful in orienting land use land cover policy.

Pankaj Kumar
Department of Geography, University of Delhi

ID Abstract: 42

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