Study of Land Use and Land Cover Change Detection Using Geoinformatics Technology - A Case Study of Dharbandora Taluka, Goa State

The term land can be defined as "a portrayal figure on the earth surface enclosing all physical attributes of the biosphere and the also the immediate environment. The meaning of land use varies from natural scientists to social scientists. According to him ‘natural scientists define land use in terms of syndromes of human activities than social scientists define land use from the perspectives of socio-economic rationale and the mode of relative use of land. Land use is generally inferred based on the cover, yet both the terms land use and land cover being closely related are interchangeable. Settlement is cover but if we include buildings whether it is being used for residence or industrial activity, it shows the land use component. This paper is an attempt to assess the changes in land use/land cover in Dharbandora taluka, Goa State over 13-year period. The study made use of ETM+ & OLI-TIRS Satellite Imageries with 30 m Spatial resolution for 2003 & 2016 Year respectively. The results show that degraded Waterbody, Agriculture, Barren land, Minning area & it’s converted in to Built-Up, Roads & Forest. The increasing population and economic activities were noted to be putting pressure on the available land resources. This paper highlights the importance of remote sensing and GIS techniques in LULC Change Detection mapping of Dharbandora taluka, Goa State.