Insights of Forest Dynamics for the Regional Ecological Fragility Assessment

Forest ecosystems play a vital role in sustaining various life forms on the earth. These ecosystems support society through the provision of goods (timber, fuelwood, etc.) and an array of ecological services (carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, etc.). However, unplanned developmental activities...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing 2020-08, Vol.48 (8), p.1169-1189
Main Authors: Ramachandra, T. V., Bharath, Setturu, Bharath, Aithal H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural management
Barren lands
Carbon sequestration
Colonization
Dispersal
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Ecosystem assessment
Forest ecosystems
Forest management
Forests
Fragility
Fragmentation
Horticulture
Intermittent streams
Land use
Landscape
Nutrient cycles
Perennial streams
Remote sensing
Remote Sensing/Photogrammetry
Research Article
Sensitivity analysis
Social factors
Streams
Timber
Tropical forests
Villages
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Summary:Forest ecosystems play a vital role in sustaining various life forms on the earth. These ecosystems support society through the provision of goods (timber, fuelwood, etc.) and an array of ecological services (carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, etc.). However, unplanned developmental activities have been affecting the ecological integrity evident from the fragmentation of forests, barren hilltops, conversion of perennial streams to intermittent or seasonal streams, etc. During the past three decades, forests have undergone major transitions with the breaking of contiguous native forests into small parcels of land, restricting the movement of species thereby limiting the potential of species for dispersal and colonization. This paper analyzes the landscape dynamics and spatial patterns of forests fragmentation of Shimoga District, Central Western Ghats and prioritizes ecologically fragile or Ecologically Sensitive regions (ESR) at village levels based on bio-geo-climatic-social variables with the land use dynamics considering temporal remote sensing data. Results revealed that there was a net loss of 10% in forest cover from 43.83% (1973) to 34.02% (2018), primarily caused by the expansion of agriculture, horticulture, and forest plantations. Forest fragmentation has increased, evident from the decline of the interior forest to an extent of 11% from 26% (1973–2018). ESR prioritization at village level in the Shimoga district considering the ecological, geo-climatic and social variables indicate that 11% villages are ESR 1 (highest sensitivity), 30% are in ESR 2 (higher sensitivity), 36% are in ESR 3 (high sensitivity) and the remaining 23% are in ESR 4 or moderate sensitivity category. The analysis illustrates the importance of understanding spatiotemporal patterns of landscape structure for sustainable management of tropical forests.
ISSN:0255-660X
0974-3006
DOI:10.1007/s12524-020-01146-z