Detection of land use and land cover change with Remote Sensing and GIS: A case study of Punjab Siwaliks

The term land use relates to the human activities or economic functions associated with a specific piece of land while land cover is the physical material at the surface of the earth. Land cover includes grass, asphalt, trees, bare ground, water, etc. The change in spatial pattern of any material related to land-use and land cover is called land-use and land cover change (LULCC) also known as land change. It is a general term for the human modification of Earth's terrestrial surface. The emergence of geospatial technology has provided an easy way to detect land use and land cover change. Remote sensing is an essential tool of land-change detection because it facilitates observations across larger extents of Earth's surface in short time periods which is not possible by ground-based observations. GIS is further beneficial for analyzing land-use and land cover. In this study the emphasis on the role of remote sensing and GIS in detection of land-use and land cover. The area of Punjab Siwaliks (between river Satluj and Ghaggar) is selected for the study. Satellite imageries for the year 1989 and 2005 are used for this purpose. Changes are found everywhere in the study area and it is found that natural vegetation is losing its extent at a rapid rate.