Assessing Land Use and Land Cover Change in River Beas Floodplain, Punjab

Abstract

Floodplains are the most fragile ecosystems of the world which attracted the humans since the dawn of civilizations. Due to their resource enrichment, these remained center of attraction to fulfill the socio-economic needs of people. As a result, the natural land cover of these floodplains are under the influence of human induced activities. River Beas Floodplain of Punjab has also witnessed such changes. Human intervention in these landscapes has depleted natural wealth and has altered its land use. Construction of upstream dam and artificial embankments and diversion of water through canals further paved the ways for intensification of land use changes. The outcome of these human actions is that wetlands, barren land, and river channels has reduced. On the other hand, agriculture and settlements recorded a sharp increase in recent decades. The growth of agricultural area and human settlements are putting pressure on the natural resources and depleting the human environment relationship in the floodplain. This study utilized multi-temporal satellite data from Landsat for the classification of land use and land cover.