Land Use Dynamics and Impact on Regional Climate Post-Tehri Dam in the Bhilangana Basin, Garhwal Himalaya

Seema Mehra Parihar, Vijendra Kumar Pandey (), Anshu, Karuna Shree, Khusro Moin, Mohammed Baber Ali, Kanchana Narasimhan, Jeetesh Rai and Azka Kamil
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Seema Mehra Parihar: Department of Geography, Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007, India
Vijendra Kumar Pandey: Department of Geography, Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007, India
Anshu: Department of Geography, Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007, India
Karuna Shree: Department of Geography, Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007, India
Khusro Moin: Department of Geography, Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007, India
Mohammed Baber Ali: Department of Geography, Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007, India
Kanchana Narasimhan: Department of Geography, Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007, India
Jeetesh Rai: Department of Geography, Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007, India
Azka Kamil: Department of Geography, Kamala Nehru College, University of Delhi, Delhi 110049, India

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 16, 1-16

Abstract: Land use and land cover (LULC) changes are a dynamic process determined by natural factors as well as the degree of human interaction in spatial and temporal perspectives. The present study focuses on analysing the LULC changes in the Bhilangana basin post-Tehri dam construction in the Garhwal Himalaya. Landsat series satellite images were used for three time periods to quantify spatial and temporal changes in the LULC using unsupervised classification techniques. The calculations of the areal coverage and change detection were carried out using the ArcGIS 10.3 software. The study finds that LULC changes were observed in the area surrounding the Tehri reservoir. The area under forest cover decreased by 54.71 km 2 , which is −5.7% of the geographical area, followed by agricultural land by 6.06 km 2 (−0.4%) and scrubland and grass cover by 4.23 km 2 (−0.28%) during the decade 2000 to 2010. Gradually, due to compensatory afforestation, forest cover increased by 5.65% in the period 2010–2020. A significant relationship with climatic variability is also established with LULC change in the region. The presence of a large water surface at a high altitude modified the albedo and air temperature and increased the atmospheric humidity and precipitation pattern. This study would be vital in understanding the climatic variability in the Himalayas and its impact on the community, environment and climate.

Keywords: land use change; change detection; remote sensing; climatic variability; Tehri reservoir; environmental impact; precipitation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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