Temporal Analysis of Land use and Land Cover Changes in Himalayan Pindar Basin, Garhwal Himalaya, Uttarakhand

The Himalayan region has undergone substantial land use land cover change (LULCC) in recent years, driven by deforestation, soil degradation, and increasing human-induced pressures. These changes were also observed in the Uttarakhand Himalayan region, where the need for a comprehensive understanding of land use land cover (LULC) dynamics, alongside climatic variables such as temperature and precipitation trends, is critical. This study utilizes high-resolution ESRI Sentinel-2 Land Cover Explorer imagery at a 10-meter resolution to analyze LULCC across the basin for 2017-2023.These changes are vital in influencing water availability, the growth of evergreen forests, and snow cover. The temporal analysis reveals significant shifts in LULC patterns from 2017 to 2023, primarily driven by variations in precipitation rather than temperature. Overall, from 2017 to 2023, water bodies have decreased by 92.74 hectares, evergreen forest has increased by 601.03 hectares, and snow cover has increased by 12,669.59 hectares. The accuracy of land use Land cover was evaluated by using the quantitative accuracy determination index (QADI), which demonstrates an overall accuracy of more than 92.81%. This study highlights their potential for effective monitoring and management of landscape dynamics in ecologically sensitive environments by using the integrated approach of remote sensing (RS) and geographic information systems (GIS).