MODIS-VCF Based Forest Change Analysis in the State of Jharkhand

Health and spread of natural forest is decreasing over time, especially in the developing nations. Without knowing information about actual status of forest cover and its dynamics it would not be easy to control rate of degradation and associated global warming. In this regard, the study attempts to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, India, Section A, physical sciences India, Section A, physical sciences, 2017-12, Vol.87 (4), p.751-767
Main Authors: Sarif, Md. Omar, Jeganathan, C., Mondal, Saptarshi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied and Technical Physics
Atomic
Deforestation
Developing countries
Forest management
Forests
LDCs
MODIS
Molecular
Optical and Plasma Physics
Physics
Physics and Astronomy
Quantum Physics
Research Article
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Summary:Health and spread of natural forest is decreasing over time, especially in the developing nations. Without knowing information about actual status of forest cover and its dynamics it would not be easy to control rate of degradation and associated global warming. In this regard, the study attempts to quantify the spatio-temporal dynamics in forest cover in Jharkhand state since its formation (i.e., year 2000) with the help of time-series tree cover information. Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer (MODIS) based Vegetation Continuous Fields (VCF) data for 15 years of time-period are analysed. Negative changes (i.e., decrease in the forest cover) were observed mainly in the Latehar, Lohardaga and West Singhbhum districts of Jharkhand, and positive changes were observed over majority of the forested regions of the state during the study period 2000–2014. Interestingly, negative changes were dominant (over ~ 1000 km 2 ) during the initial period 2000–2008, and the later half revealed positive changes (over ~ 1400 km 2 ). The forest cover report published by Forest Survey India during 2001 and 2015 has also revealed overall increase in the forest cover of Jharkhand.
ISSN:0369-8203
2250-1762
DOI:10.1007/s40010-017-0446-6