Himashree Bora and Nitashree Mili
Abstract
Wetlands, among the Earthâs most productive ecosystems, are increasingly threatened by rapid land use transformation driven by anthropogenic pressures. This study investigates the spatio-temporal changes in land use and land cover (LULC) of the Kuzi Satra Patty beel , located at the intersection of Morigaon and Nagaon districts in Assam, India, using Sentinel-2 satellite data from 2016 and 2024. By applying a supervised classification approach using the Maximum Likelihood algorithm within a GIS framework, seven distinct LULC categories were identified and analysed. Results indicate a substantial decline in wetland water cover from 2.26/km² (28.3%) in 2016 to 0.88/km² (11.0%) in 2024 attributed largely to encroachment for built-up infrastructure and the proliferation of man-made ponds, which expanded from 1.19/km² (14.9%) to 2.94/km² (36.8%) within 1 km buffer area. The loss of fallow land, moderate increase in vegetation and negligible change in agricultural areas highlight intensified land conversion dynamics and economic dependency on pisciculture. Accuracy assessment showed robust classification results, with overall accuracy of 91.66% (2016) and 93.05% (2024), and Kappa coefficients of 0.89 and 0.91, respectively. This study highlights the urgency of wetland conservation policies and community-based management strategies to mitigate further ecological degradation in Assamâs wetland ecosystems.