Spatio-temporal Analysis of Land Use and Land Cover Change in the Achanakmaar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve, Central India: Implications for Forest Degradation and Conservation Planning

Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) Change plays a crucial role in influencing ecological stability, biodiversity, and climate dynamics. This study investigates the spatio-temporal dynamics of LULC in the Achanakmaar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve (AABR), a critical ecological zone in Central India using 2001 and 2021 Landsat imagery, geospatial tools- ArcGIS, and maximum likelihood classification approach. Effort was made to map and analyze changes in major land cover types, viz., dense mixed forest (DMF), sal mixed forest (SMF), bamboo brakes (BB), teak plantation (TP), open mixed forest (OMF), agricultural land (AG), human habitations (HH), and water bodies (WB). The results revealed a significant decline in forested area, particularly DMF (-43.93 km²), SMF (-50.77 km²), BB (-6.07 km²), TP (-40.63 km²), and WB (-3.20 km²), while OMF (+131.14 km²), AG (+23.65 km²), and habitations (+2.88 km²) showed notable expansion in two decades. These trends are consistent with anthropogenic pressures reported in similar tropical forest ecosystems. The findings of this study corroborate with the global studies that tropical forests are under increasing threat due to unsustainable land use transitions. Our findings underscore the urgent need for policy interventions and ecological restoration through community-based forest management, reforestation, and promotion of sustainable agroforestry practices. This study contributes novel insights into the regional forest degradation patterns in Central India and demonstrates the utility of remote sensing for long-term environmental monitoring.