ASSESSMENT OF RIVER ECOSYSTEMS AND HUMAN-INDUCED STRESS ON HYDROLOGICAL REGIME - A CASE STUDY OF GOMTI RIVER BASIN, INDIA

摘要

This paper attempt to evaluate the potential impact of human-induced interventions on hydrological regimes of Gomti River, one of the important tributaries of the Ganges in India. LANDSAT satellite data of 1978 and IRS-1C/LISS-III satellite data of 2008 are compared to study the changes that have had happened in the basin resulting in increase in built up areas, decrease in forest and plantation cover and inland water bodies. Flow data from 1978 to 2012 is analysed to study the patterns of flow regime in the different segments of the river. Water quality assessment is done to study the quality of the water in different stretches of the river. The paper shows that significant changes have taken place in the basin over the recent past and are still continuing. A steady increase in developed land area due to rapid urban sprawl has occurred in recent decades, due to which forest cover and wetlands are decreasing, the river and floodplains are getting fragmented, the hydromorphology changed considerably and several tributaries are getting dried as a result of indiscriminate exploitation of groundwater. The paper has adopted an integrated approach to study the integrity of river ecosystems and the potential pressures on them. The findings suggest that river Gomti and its floodplain offer multiple ecosystem services and deserve an integrated approach for its conservation and restoration.