Decadal Land Use and Land Cover Transformation in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar of Punjab Based on Geospatial Technology

Land use and land cover (LU/LC) is observed to be the primary factor of environmental change on a worldwide scale. Timely and accurate information on LU/LC is very important for efficient planning and management activities. The present study mainly focused on land use and land cover change analysis in district Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar of Punjab using remote sensing and geospatial technology. Satellite data of IRS P6 LISS-III (2012 and 2022) were analysed for LU/LC mapping using visual interpretation techniques. The study area was divided into seven LU/LC classes i.e.: agriculture, built-up, waterbody, forest/tree clad area, riverine sand, algae bloom and fallow land /barren land/waste land in which agriculture covers maximum while riverine sand covers minimum area. Satellite derived NDVI and NDWI has been used to derive the spatial variability of vegetation and water. In decadal change the alterations encompass positive trends such as increased agricultural area (31.29%), as well as negative trends including decreased algae bloom (59.82%). Overall accuracy for LISS-III 2012 and LISS-III 2022 were 88.3% and 86.66% respectively with kappa coefficient value as 0.86, and 0.83, respectively. Hotspot areas with major changes were seen in Block Nawanshahr with major increase in built-up area, as well as in Block Saroya and Balachaur of study area with major decrease in Forest area.