Spatio-Temporal Evaluation of Landscape Dynamics in Agro-Ecological Landscape: A Case Study of Onattukara Agro-ecological Zone, Kerala, India

The modifications in agricultural landscapes by various factors greatly impact the alteration of environmental equilibrium, and a critical assessment is needed to maintain landscape sustainability. The man started innovating farm practices to achieve greater productivity in a shorter period without any concern about future catastrophes. Many landscape indices were developed from 1980 onwards. Their application was eased importantly by the visual aspect and popularity of GIS software and the comparatively low-cost availability of aerial photos and satellite images. Geographically speaking, GIS has played a major part in articulating landscape evaluation using landscape metrics. Landscape metrics help in computing composition and configuration; the two main features of landscape structure. The evolution of computer programs like Fragstats, patch analyst and various plugins in GIS software gave a new face to landscape quantification and change detection analysis. The present study examined the spatiotemporal dynamics of the agricultural landscape in the Onattukara Agro-ecological Zone from 1988 to 2021 employing a set of metrics parameters that are associated closely with agricultural landscape sustainability. Onattukara forms a unique agroecological landscape sprawling over the taluks of Karunagapally in the Kollam district and Karthikappally and Mavelikkara in the Alappuzha districts of Kerala, India. This region is predominantly a sandy tract; famous for the cultivation and production of good-quality sesamum and rice. Now the region become an area of low productivity with many negative factors limiting production. This study established the strong association between agricultural landscape transformation and urbanization using landscape metrics as a major tool.