Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Land Use Land Cover Change: Quantifying Urbanization Impacts on Agricultural and Forest Landscapes

Rapid urbanization in biodiversity-rich regions poses critical challenges for sustainable development. This study analyses Land Use Land Cover (LULC) changes in Kamrup district, Assam, Northeast India, during 2014–2024 using Landsat 8 OLI multispectral satellite imagery and Maximum Likelihood Classification in ArcGIS. Six LULC classes were mapped: Agricultural Land, Barren Land, Built-up Area, Forest Cover, Sparse Vegetation, and Waterbodies. Results reveal landscape transformations with built-up areas experiencing unprecedented expansion of 504.32 km² (+ 132.19%), representing one of the most rapid urbanization rates in Northeast India. Concurrently, agricultural land declined by 229.27 km² (− 36.00%) and forest cover decreased by 725.05 km² (− 39.02%), indicating severe pressure on productive and natural landscapes. Notably, sparse vegetation increased by 625.89 km² (+ 77.93%), suggesting complex ecological processes involving secondary succession and forest degradation. The classification achieved 89.2% overall accuracy (κ = 0.847), validating result reliability. The documented changes underscore fundamental landscape reorganization driven by metropolitan expansion, threatening food security, biodiversity conservation, and ecosystem service provision. These findings establish essential baseline information for integrated land management strategies balancing urbanization, agricultural sustainability, and environmental conservation in biodiversity hotspots. The research demonstrates that evidence-based policy interventions addressing interconnections between urban development, agricultural protection, and forest conservation can guide sustainable development trajectories in rapidly changing regions.