Land use and land cover change analysis for Kosi River wildlife corridor in Terai Arc Landscape of Northern India: Implications for future management

摘要

This study is an attempt to characterize spatial and temporal patterns of land use land cover (LULC) changes, rate of deforestation, and develop future scenarios for Kosi River wildlife corridor using geospatial tools. One of the key corridors of Terai Arc Landscape, in the Himalayan foothills of northern India, Kosi River corridor provides crucial linkage between the Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve and the Ramnagar Forest Division. Growing anthropogenic disturbances in the landscape have led to fragmentation of existing wildlife habitats. The changes were mapped using remotely sensed multi-date satellite images (2009 and 2014) in geographic information system. Land Change Modeler was used to predict LULC distribution for 2020 and 2030 using current disturbance scenarios. The predicted map showed that if the current probability of change persists, dense forest would witness a decline of about 8.5 km in area, while area under plantation would occupy 4.31% (27.9 km(2)) of the total area by 2030. These changes are significant given the fact that the area is under protected area status. The study indicates that manmade obstructions, in the form of construction of resorts, buildings and residential houses, all along the Kosi River are the major reasons for increasing deforestation. Loss in forest cover outside Corbett Tiger Reserve may lead to loss of important connectivity between the core protected ecosystems, breaking the continuity of genetic exchanges amongst spatially isolated wildlife populations.