Integrated dataset of satellite-derived water quality parameters and bird populations in five Ramsar Wetlands of India using Sentinel‑2 Imagery and in-situ observations

Background: Water birds serve as particularly valuable indicators of wetland health since wetlands provide critical feeding, foraging, nesting, roosting and breeding habitats for these species. Monitoring waterbird populations over time is, therefore, essential for assessing wetland ecosystem health. To achieve this, certain wetlands are designated as Ramsar sites by identifying those with high conservation importance and implementing conservation measures. New information: To address the critical need for integrated monitoring of wetland water quality and biodiversity, where bird populations serve as key bioindicators of environmental health and ecosystem integrity, the proposed dataset provides detailed, multi-year records of water quality parameters and bird populations across five Ramsar wetlands in India: Ashtamudi, Vembanad and Sasthamkotta in Kerala; Harike Wetland in Punjab; and Point Calimere in Tamil Nadu. The data span from 2016 to 2024 for the Kerala sites and from 2018 to 2024 for Harike Wetland and Point Calimere. Using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery combined with site-specific shapefiles, surface reflectance data for each wetland are processed and analysed. For the three Kerala wetlands, seven key water quality parameters: total suspended solids (TSS), turbidity, conductivity, pH, ammoniacal nitrogen (NH₃-N), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and dissolved oxygen (DO) were estimated by calibrating models with in-situ measurements. In Harike Wetland and Point Calimere, the focus was on chlorophyll-a (Chl_a), cyanobacteria cell concentration (Cya), turbidity, coloured dissolved organic matter (CDOM)and dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Bird population data, centred on both migratory and resident water birds, are sourced from multiple resources and organisations, including eBird:, World Wide Fund for Nature - Kerala (WWF), Bird Count India, Kottayam Nature Society, Cochin Natural History Society (CNHS), Pathanamthitta Birders and Kollam Birding Battalion, to provide comprehensive insight into wetland biodiversity. By integrating geospatial, spectral, field and ecological information in correlation with bird population data, this dataset enables long-term tracking of wetland health and provides a foundation for bird occupancy prediction for researchers working in remote sensing, ecology and conservation. With the regression equation formulated from the collected dataset, the system could achieve a promising R² value, which indicates that this model can be further applied to these wetlands.