Linking land system changes (1980–2017) with the trophic status of an urban wetland: Implications for wetland management

• Published in: Environmental monitoring and assessment 2021-11, Vol.193 (11), p.710-710, Article 710
• Main Authors: Dar, Shahid Ahmad, Rashid, Irfan, Bhat, Sami Ullah
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accuracy; Anthropogenic factors; Aquatic ecosystems; Area; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Corona; Digitizing; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology; Ecosystem dynamics; Ecosystem integrity; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Management; Environmental monitoring; Environmental science; Eutrophic environments; Eutrophic waters; Eutrophication; Governance; Green infrastructure; Land cover; Land use; Landscape architecture; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; Morphometry; Satellite imagery; Spatial discrimination; Spatial resolution; Strategic management; Symptoms; Trophic state; Trophic status; Trophic structure; Urbanization; Wetland management; Wetlands
• ISSN: 0167-6369; 1573-2959
• DOI: 10.1007/s10661-021-09476-2

The knowledge on urban ecosystem dynamics is being increasingly felt due to unprecedented symptoms arising out of urbanization. This study is aimed to assess land use-land cover changes (LULCCs) around a wetland ecosystem using high spatial resolution CORONA and Google Basemap satellite imageries. The imageries were processed by digitizing land cover features at 1:3000 scale in ArcGIS 10.1. The imageries were classified into nine classes, and an estimation of accuracy was performed utilizing the Kappa coefficient and error matrices. The overall accuracy obtained was 94% for the 2017 dataset. The key findings indicated a loss of 23% in the wetland area from 1980 to 2017. While in the vicinity, a significant increase in green spaces (706.2%) and roads (89.4%) was observed. Morphometric analysis revealed that the wetland has lost a surface area of 10.2 ha from 1980 to 2017. The maximum length ( L max ) of the wetland was reduced by 722 m while the maximum width ( W max ) decreased by 78 m. Bathymetric analysis revealed that the wetland is shallow with a depth ranging from 10 to 174 cm. The Carlson’s Trophic State Index (TSI) of wetland ranging from 74 to 87 indicates hyper-eutrophic waters. Overall, the loss of wetland area, together with the reduction in morphometric features, low depth, and higher trophic status speak of anthropogenic pressures that are compromising the ecological integrity of this wetland. Therefore, landscape planning and governance are of pivotal importance for the conservation and management of wetland ecosystems in this region.