MAPPING AND MONITORING OF DESSERTIFICATION AND LAND DEGRADATION USING REMOTE SENSING AND GIS TECHNIQUES

Abstract

The objective of this study is to develop techniques for assessing and analyzing land desertification in
Chitrakoot, a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh, as a typical monitoring the area through the application of remotely
sensed data and geographic information systems. The methodology included the use of LISS-III data, topographic maps,
field work and use of other existing data. From this, land cover, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI),
farmland, woodland and grassland maps at 1:50,000 were prepared for land desertification monitoring in the area. In the
study all data was entered into a GIS using ArcGIS software to perform land desertification monitoring. The results
indicate that land desertification in the area has been increasing. Although land desertification has to some extent been
controlled in the area by planting grasses and trees, the issue of land desertification is still serious problem. The analysis
also establish an example of why the summation of remote sensing with GIS is decisive for the monitoring of
environmental changes in arid and semi-arid regions, e.g. in land desertification monitoring in the Chitrakoot area.
However, land desertification monitoring using remote sensing and GIS still requires to be retain, refined for the purpose
of long-term monitoring and the management of fragile ecosystems in the area. Modeling and monitoring desertification
processes are of prime importance for the preservation of the ecosystem and human society. The desertification process
involves many typical phenomena which must be diagnosed and monitored through multi-disciplinary approaches of
physical, biological and social indicators.