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Landuse-Land cover mapping through digital image processing of satellite data- A case study from Panchkula, Ambala and Yamunanagar districts, Haryana state, India
- Ambala District
Agricultural land
About 85% of the total geographical area of district is occupied by agricultural lands of which double crop area covers 653 km2 (44%) and Rabi is cropped in 196.71km2 area (13%) suggesting availability of adequate water for irrigation. The Kharif crop occupies 25% of total geographical area of district. The fallow land occupies only 7% whereas agricultural plantation is only 1% of the total area. The occurrence of 7% fallow land is appreciable considering the good irrigation facilities and types of soils, which are non-calcareous and well drained. The principal crops in the district are wheat, rice, sugarcane and barley, which is grown in irrigated areas whereas maize, groundnut, bajara and pulses are the main Kharif crops.
Wasteland
Wastelands occupy about 8.7% of the district area, which mainly includes land with or without scrub and sandy areas.
There is no forest area demarcated in the district. The built up land constitutes 5.91% of the district area. It is interesting that plantation within the city covers an appreciable area of about 13.8 km2 , which is mainly concentrated in the Ambala cantonment.
Table No. 7.3: Landuse-land cover categories and their aerial coverage in Ambala district.
| Level I |
Level II |
Area in sq. km. |
% of district area |
| 1. Built-up land |
City / Village
City plantation |
87.08
13.83 |
5.91
0.94 |
| 2. Agriculture Land |
Kharif crop
Rabi crop
Double cropped
Fallow land
Plantation |
370.05
196.71
653.34
7.01
6.14 |
25.13
13.36
44.37
0.47
1.10 |
| 3. Wasteland |
Land with/ without scrub
Sandy area |
118.45
9.57 |
8.04
0.65 |
| 4. Water Bodies |
Lakes/ tanks/river |
0.41 |
0.03 |
| Total |
1472.58 |
100.00 |
- Yamunanagar
Agricultural Land
About 77.5% of the geographical area of the district belongs to this category. Double crop and Kharif crop areas make up nearly 38.23% and 30.44% respectively whereas Rabi crop area is only 6.42%. The fallow land constitutes 0.53% whereas the plantation covers around 2.01%. The dominance of agricultural plantation in Yamunanagar district reflects the changing attitudes of farmers from conventional agricultural practices to agro forestry. The principal crops of districts are wheat, sugarcane and paddy in the irrigated areas whereas pulses and maize form main crops of Kharif season.
Forest
Forests occupy about 10% of the district area and are mainly concentrated in the Siwalik hills and Piedmont zone (Kandi belt). The majority of mapped forest area (9%) lies within the reserve forest boundaries and only 1% forest area is classified under outside reserve forest category. Within the reserve forests the good forests occupies the maximum area of about 96 km2.
Table No. 3: Landuse-land cover categories and their aerial coverage in Yamunanagar district.
| Level I |
Level II |
Area in sq. km. |
% of district area |
| 1. Built-up land |
City / Village
City plantation |
62.44
5.09 |
3.51
0.28 |
| 2. Agricultural Land |
Kharif crop
Rabi crop
Double cropped
Fallow land
Plantation |
541.73
114.14
680.27
9.53
5.78 |
30.44
6.42
38.23
0.53
2.01 |
| 3. Forest |
Reserve forest (Poor)
Reserve forest (Moderate)
Reserve Forest (Good)
Outside forest
(Poor)
Outside forest (Moderate)
Outside forest (Good) |
19.95
45.78
96.01
4.91
5.33
12.73 |
1.12
2.57
5.39
0.28
0.30
0.72 |
| 4. Wasteland |
Land with/ without scrub
Sandy area |
107.21
32.94 |
6.03
1.85 |
| 5. Water Bodies |
Lakes/ tanks/river |
5.70 |
0.32 |
| Total |
1779.51 |
100.00 |
Wasteland
Wastelands occupy about 140.15 km2 of district area and are characterised by land with/ without scrub and sandy area.
The rest of the area (4%) is covered under built up land, water bodies etc. The built up land comprising 62.44 km2 mainly lies within the twin township of Yamunanagar and Jagadhri. The plantation within the city constitutes about 5 km2.
Conclusion
The heterogeneous climate and physiographic conditions in Panchkula, Ambala and Yamunanagar districts has resulted in the development of different landuse-land cover types. The present status of landuse-land cover in the districts of Panchkula, Ambala and Yamunanagar as evaluated by digital analysis of satellite data indicates that majority of areas in these districts (36% in Panchkula, 85% in Ambala 77.5% in Yamunanagar) are used for agricultural purpose. The hilly regions of the Panchkula and Yamunanagar districts exhibits fair development of reserve forests (30% and 9% respectively). Wasteland occupies about 16%, 8.7% and 7.88% area in Panchkula, Ambala and Yamunanagar districts respectively. It is inferred that landuse - land cover patterns in the area are generally controlled by agro-climatic conditions, ground water potential and hosts of other factors like irrigation facilities, soil characteristics, socio-economic status and demography. Land degradation due to soil erosion is prevalent in the steeply sloping Siwalik ranges of the districts whereas soil salinization, water logging and dumping of mining/industrial waste causing deterioration of productive agricultural land in the plane areas of these districts. There is an urgent need to reverse this trend and to restore the productive capacity of land in order to meet the demands of increasing population and other development needs. The remote sensing with its multispectral, multitemporal and synoptic view has the potential to provide accurate spatial and temporal information on landuse-land cover of a region in a time and cost effective manner.
Bibliography
Drury, S.A. (1987): Image interpretation in geology, Allen and Unwin publication, London.
Manual of procedure for preparation of wastelands digital data base using remote sensing & GIS techniques- NRSA, DOS, 1997.
Data User Hand book, NRSA, DOS, 1998.
Pandey, A.C., 2001 Geology and Morphotectonics of a part of Lesser Garhwal Himalaya (Tehri-Uttarkashi districts) Using Remote Sensing and GIS techniques-Unpublished thesis submitted to the University of Delhi for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
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