Impact of urbanization on land use/land cover of Dudhganga watershed of Kashmir Valley, India

摘要

The rapid rate of urban expansion due to a rise in population and economic growth is causing land use/land cover changes in fringe areas of Srinagar city especially in the Dudhganga watershed. This paper analyzes land use/land cover changes that occurred due to urban expansion and points out the major impact of urbanization on landscape through multi-temporal Landsat satellite data (1991 and 2010) of the Dudhganga watershed. In order to assess the pattern of urbanization, land consumption ratio (LCR) and land absorption coefficient (LAC) have been estimated. The results revealed that throughout the period of 1991-2010, the amount of built up area has increased dramatically whereas the area under agriculture has decreased drastically. The built-up area has experienced an increase of 5056 hectares while the area under agriculture has witnessed a decrease of 3241 hectares. The values of land consumption ratio and land absorption coefficient reveal remarkable changes at both spatial and temporal scales. The lower reaches of the watershed are becoming urbanized due to the outer growth of Srinagar city at the cost of prime agricultural land. Serious environmental problems have cropped up as a result of rapid urban development. If the present trend continues it will lead to severe degradation of natural resources of the watershed, hence it calls for a proper land use policy.