Annual Mangrove Vegetation Cover Changes (2014–2020) in Indian Sundarbans National Park Using Landsat 8 and Google Earth Engine

Gwendolyn Karsch, Sharif A. Mukul () and Sanjeev Kumar Srivastava ()
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Gwendolyn Karsch: Institute of Geography, University of Bonn, 53115 Bonn, Germany
Sharif A. Mukul: School of Science, Technology and Engineering (SSTE), University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore DC, QLD 4556, Australia
Sanjeev Kumar Srivastava: School of Science, Technology and Engineering (SSTE), University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore DC, QLD 4556, Australia

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 6, 1-9

Abstract: Mangrove ecosystems have high ecological and economic value mainly because of their ability to sequester large amounts of carbon and protect shorelines. Monitoring such ecosystems with earth observation data analytics is necessary to achieve deeper insight and subsequent conservation strategies. The Sundarbans is the world’s largest contiguous mangrove forest, and Sundarbans National Park is a part of this world-famous mangrove forest in India. To examine vegetation change in this region, we used a planetary-scale tool, the Google Earth Engine. A time series of the surface reflectance product of Landsat 8 between 2014 and 2020 was analysed using annual median images. NDVI and dNDVI were derived to monitor vegetation cover change. While we noticed no major changes in the vegetation cover throughout the study area, the coastal regions, especially the southern end, showed significant changes. There were both mangrove vegetation gains due to land accretion and mangrove loss due to erosion and cyclone damage. This study will be useful for long-term monitoring of the imperiled Sundarbans ecosystem to measure any major changes.

Keywords: vegetation cover change; mangrove ecosystem; Landsat 8; Google Earth Engine; Sundarbans National Park; South Asia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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