Land Degradation Pattern Using Geo-Information Technology for Kot

Addu, Punjab Province, Pakistan

What we infer from this paper is that the Land degradation is an environmental problem which is
mainly caused by the climatic changes and human influence. Its the decline in the capability of the
land to yield benefits from its use under a definite form of land management.

So it is been realised that there is an utmost obligation of monitoring such a vital phenomenon.

Thus the remote sensing methodologies are being administered in the study attempts to recognise
and quantify the land degradation triggered by climatic change(s). It acts as a cost effective tools in
evaluating natural resource degradation by providing timely, accurate and up to date information
obtained via remotely sensed data.

Such study can be executed with the TM/ETM+ images by analysing them with NVDI. Normalized
Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) as an indicator of land degradation or desertification.

The NDVI captures the marked contrast between the strong absorbance in the visible wavelengths
and strong reflectance in the near-infrared wavelengths which uniquely characterizes the presence of
photo synthetically active vegetation.

For the above said study one needs to use Remote Sensing Techniques. Remote sensing offers
unbiased view of large areas, with spatially explicit information distribution and time repetition at a
regional scale.
Climate Change Induced Land Degradation and Socio-Economic
Deterioration: A Remote Sensing and GIS Based Case Study from
Rajasthan, India

This paper emphasises over the matter that the land surface processes influence climate and impact
biotic diversity by altering the ecosystem services, affecting the ability of biological systems to support
human needs.

Altogether the climate also exerts a strong influence over dry land vegetation type, biomass and
diversity. The high temperatures and low precipitation in the dry lands consequences to poor organic
matter production.

The odds of wind and water erosion surges significantly as the quality and quantity of aggregation is
reduced which is in due to inferior organic matter in that region.

Influences that initiate land degradation

Physical: incorporating crusting, compaction, hard-setting etc.

Chemical: incorporating acidification, salinization, fertility depletion, and decrease in cation
retention capacity),
Biological degradation: reduction in total and biomass carbon, and decline in land
biodiversity).

So in order to attend to these arising land degradation apprehensions one need to advocate the
remote sensing and GIS technique.

Such that one can commendably attempts to recognise and quantify the land degradation triggered
by climatic change(s).

Obtaining remotely sensed data via use of such an approach tool is also cost effective in appraising
natural resource degradation by rendering a timely, accurate and up to date information.

For Land use/land cover mapping the Standard Geocoded FCC LISS II data is employed for the study.

GIS has been used to digitize, edit and analyse the maps to determine the changes.

The methodological approach include

Data sets used for such studies can be collected from multiple sources and agencies such as
o Survey of India Topographical maps
o Satellite Imagery from NRSC, Hyderabad
o Meteorological data from India Meteorological Department, Pune
o Ground data/GPS data can be obtained through field visits
o Secondary data can be collected from various government and non-governmental
agencies
The toposheets were used for inputs such as
o demarcation of watershed boundaries taking slope
o elevation and drainage flow directions
o elevation
o contour lines
o major road and rail network, etc.
 Indian Remote Sensing satellite (IRS) was utilized for generating primary in-formation on
various parameters.
For defining various land use/land cover categories Satellite data were interpreted using the
geotechnical and photographic elements such as
o Tone
o Texture
o Pattern
o Association
o Drainage etc.
Arc GIS 10 software is used for
o Digitization
o editing and spatial analysis
o area computation
o output generation of Land use/land cover maps
Meteorological data is used for the computation of annual average maximum and minimum
temperatures and annual average rainfall
R-software is used to compute average rise on temperature
Other information is being gathered form Structured questionnaire based household surveys
on variety of aspects related to
o socio-economic status
o drinking water
o fuel wood supply
o crops grown and their output
o source of irrigation
o change in ground water level
o shifts in crops, etc.
Extent of land degradation and status of wastelands in Rajasthan (NW
India) with a focus on the Bhilwara District

Land resources are degrading at faster rate due to human interventions. The pressure on land
resources has increased manifold with the increasing human and animal population.

Different agencies working on the said matter are

National Commission on Agriculture 1976

Ministry of Agriculture 1978, 1985, 1994
National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning -NBSS&LUP, 1994, 2004
National Wasteland Development Board, 1985

The area statistics having the degraded and wastland of Rajasthan include summation of several
data in form of maps

Soil loss class and wind erosion class constituting combined soil loss map of state
Acid soil map
Forest cover map
Salt effected soil map
Mining/ industrial wastelands, waterlogged area, barren rocky/ stony wasteland map

The state has been demarcated into four physiographic zones:

I. the Western Plains

a. the sandy arid plain
b. the semi-arid transitional plain
II. the Central Highlands
a. the Aravalli landscape
b. the Eastern Rajasthan upland
i. eastern and northeastern side areas of the Aravalli range
ii. formed by the alluvium of the Banas and Mahi river system
c. the Pathar and Bundelkhand uplands
i. hilly regions of the Vindhyan system
d. the Malwa plateau
i. Deccan trap
ii. And abounds in basaltic formations.
III. the arid sandy plain and pediplain
a. constitute a part of the Thar Desert in the western Rajasthan
IV. the semiarid transitional plain
a. Lies roughly between eastern margins of the western desert and western foothills of
Aravallis

The state can be broadly divided into three geological regions:

I. the Aeolian sands

II. the Alluvial deposits
III. the Aravallis