High-Resolution Land Use Land Cover Mapping in Northern region of Kashmir Himalayas Using LISS IV Data

Land use/cover change (LULC) studies are important for understanding environmental dynamics and ensuring sustainable management of resources.This study used LISS IV satellite data of 2016 to map and classify three forest divisions viz., Langate Forest Division (LFD), JV Forest Division (JV) and Special Forest Division Tangmarg (SFD) of Kashmir Himalayas.Using high resolution satellite data (LISS IV), the study area was delineated into 11 LULC classes: agriculture, built-up, forest, forest scrub, grassland, horticulture, snow, trees outside forest (TOF), waterbody, wetland, and wasteland.Dominant land cover was recorded in class forest with highest percentage of 49% in JV Forest division, followed by Langate forest division (42.21%) and SDF Tangmarg (22.26%).Horticulture was dominant land use in Langate Forest division (23.46%) and SDF Tangmarg (22.26%), while agriculture was most prominent in SDF Tangmarg (22.56%).Snow cover (9.26%) and wetlands (2.51%) was observed highest in SDF Tangmarg (9.26%) due to its higher altitudes.An overall accuracy of 93.52% and a kappa coefficient of 0.928 was observed.Producers and users accuracy was highest in agriculture (97.78 and 95.65%), grassland (96.43 and 96.43%) waterbody, (97.22 and 92.11%) and wasteland classes (95.45 and 95.45%).In comparison, wetland and forest classes showed slightly lower accuracies due to spectral overlap being 81.25 and 92.86% for wetland and 95.83 and 88.46% for forest.The individual and integrated LULC maps of three distinct forest divisions provided a detailed spatial representation of land use patterns, vital for decision making for land management and conservation planning.The study provide baseline data for addressing ecological challenges in the region and will contribute for future research in temporal LULC changes to assess their impact on ecosystem services and regional sustainability.