Application of GPS and GIS in satellite Remote Sensing assessment of land use and land resource pattern in the limestone mining area and environs at Wadi, Gulbarga district, Karnataka  V. Raghavswamy  Rajiv Kumar  Rakesh Paliwal National Remote Sensing Agency Dept. of Space, Govt. of India Balanagar, Hyderabad, 500 037 A.P., India vraghavswamy@yahoo.com Abstract Global Positioning System has come as an important tool in land use/land cover study by Satellite Remote Sensing and GIS techniques. In the present study of land resource and land use pattern assessment of Wadi Limestone Mines and cement plant, IRS 1-D LISS – III and PAN merged data of December 2000 is used. Handheld GPS (Holux GM – 100) is used for correction of raw satellite imagery and identification of smaller land use on the ground features. GPS is capable of receiving and tracking 12 satellites with 5-25 meters of positional accuracy. Image processing was done in Erdas Imagine (Ver. 8.3) and spatial GIS data creation and analysis were done in ARC INFO (Ver. 7.2.1) GIS package. Final maps prepared on 1:25,000 scale. Study indicates 56.92% of area is under agricultural land (Cropland, Fallow land & Plantations), wasteland (land with/without scrub, abandoned quarry) is spread over 21.21 % of the study area and built-up area covers 386.76 ha (7.39 %) mainly distributed along the transportation network. The development is also catalysed by the presence of limestone mines and cement plant which has provided an opportunity for ancillary activity and employment to the local population. Introduction Mankind for their profit is continuously exploiting the natural resources. Natural resource management connotes their optimal utilization and also conservation of resources. Both are essential for development and achieving environmental sustainability and hence an assessment of land resources and land use pattern is essential and important. Encouraging emphasis on infrastructure development projects has resulted in the rapid growth of construction sector, which in turn has increased the requirement of cement as raw material. A number of cement industries in the vicinity of limestone (raw material) mines have been established to meet the increasing demand. In the recent past Gulbarga district in Karnataka state, rich in limestone deposits has attracted a development of a number limestone mines and cement industries.
Page 1 of 5
| Next | |