Dynamics of Urban Land Use and Land Cover Change and its Implications for Ecosystem Services: A Study of Ranchi City, India

Abstract

The continuously changing urban landscape due to rapid and haphazard urban growth and industrialisation has posed a serious threat to the urban ecosystem and its sustainability. The study is an attempt to analyse the impact of land use and land cover (LULC) changes on ecosystem service value (ESV). Ranchi, a medium-sized, rapidly growing capital city of Jharkhand state in eastern India, was selected as the study area. The Landsat data for the years 1993, 2008, 2023 and 2026 and the published global value coefficients (VCs) for different ecosystems were used for the analysis. To check the reliability of the estimated ESVs, a sensitivity analysis was carried out using the coefficient of sensitivity (CS). The total estimated ESV of Ranchi city was approximately 14.89 million USD in 1993, 13.51 million USD in 2008, 9.54 million USD in 2023 and 9.13 million USD in 2026. The estimated ESV declined by 35.97% over the 30-year period between 1993 and 2023, followed by a further decline of more than 4% in just three years (2023–2026). The decline aligns closely with rapid built-up area expansion and the corresponding reduction in vegetation and water bodies. The findings of the study call for an effective land-use management policy and its proper implementation to ensure ecological conservation alongside sustainable urban growth of the city.