ASSESSMENT OF FOREST LAND DEGRADATION BY REMOTE SENSING AND GIS: A CASE STUDY OF JAISAMAND WILDLIFE SANCTUARY, UDAIPUR (RAJASTHAN)Anil Panchal, Nidhi Rai and Nirmal Kumar SharmaAbstract Assessment of the degradation of forest cover by Remote Sensing and GIS (Geographical Information System) technique of the Jaisamand Wildlife Sanctuary is the main aim of the present investigation. Anthropogenic activities in the study area are so intense that forest cover is degrading at an alarming rate. Supervised classification methodology has been employed using maximum likelihood technique in ERDAS Imagine 14.0. The images of the maps were classified into Forestland, scrubland, water and barren land. Although the forests cover in the study area is of open forest type. The statistical analysis indicates change in land use pattern from the year 2001 to 2005 and till 2015. And this change in land use pattern is of great concern for environmentalists and this leading to the habitat loss to the endemic flora and fauna species. This scientific venture gives a vivid picture of the forest degradation due to human activities which has to be checked immediately to save the forest land and the sanctuary as well. |