Impact of horticulture on changing land use/land cover and forest depletion in Rohru Block, Shimla District of Himachal Pradesh, India

The Indian state of Himachal Pradesh is a mountainous region that can take pride in its rich forest resources and scenic environment. But human and environment interactions have taken an exploitative turn in recent times. This study deals with one such aspect of environmental concern due to horticulture expansion especially apple cultivation. It has led to drastic Land use land cover (LULC) change and illegal encroachments of forest land that has resulted into accelerated loss of forests in Himachal Pradesh. The present study deals with the impact of horticulture expansion on LULC changes in Rohru Block of Shimla district during the span of 22 years i.e. 2002–2024. The study has shown a noticeable change in LULC pattern as over the considered period the agro-horticultural land area grew from 129.3 km 2 to 141 km 2 . In terms of percentage the agro-horticultural land has seen an increase of nearly 4 per cent i.e. from 42.7 per cent to 46.68 per cent of total area at a result of encroachment of forest land. This has resulted into several ecological problems requiring immediate concern and action.