Time Series Study of Vegetation Cover of the Coastal Bhitarkanika National Park Region, Odisha, India Using Geospatial Technology

Abstract

The research site is located in Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary in India’s Kendrapara District, The Sanctuary covers an area of 672 km2. An Advanced Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System techniques were used to study the changing patterns of Land Use and Land Cover from year 2009 to 2021. The study period covers was to analyze a 13-year period regarding its land use and land cover change in Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary. Satellite imageries for the gap of every 5-year interval respectively like 2009-2013, 2013-2017 and 2017-2021, satellite data were used to identify the changes. A significant pattern of change in the LULC was revealed with changes in open land area, agriculture land and vegetation cover and water body open land got reduced by 69.03% whereas agriculture lands got increased by 40.17%. In contrast, vegetation areas and water body decreased by 35.71% and 10.44%, indicating a trend toward land use changes, climate variability, and human activities. These changes highlight the impact of human activities on the landscape and emphasize the need for sustainable land management practices. The prediction model shows the probably increased water body and agriculture land by 0.25%, 4.131%. In other hand, vegetation is decreased by 2.38%. The result highlighted the changes in the spatial extent of the mangroves and other land use categories in the study areas as a result in due course of time.