Assessment of land use land cover dynamics and its impact on springs water in Ritung Khola Sub-Watershed, Myagdi district, Nepal

Year 2023, Volume: 12 Issue: 2, 190 - 204, 01.04.2023

Sachin Timilsina Saurav Shrestha Shankar Tripathi Rajeev Bhattarai Shambhu Kumar Mishra Raju Raj Regmi Diwakar Paudel Mahamad Sayab Miya

https://doi.org/10.18393/ejss.1244373

Cited By: 1

Abstract

Land Use Land Cover (LULC) Change has emerged as a significant environmental issue and a worry for the sustainable use of natural resources. This study was performed to determine the rate in change of land cover and its significant impact on springs water in the Ritung Khola sub-watershed of Myagdi district, Nepal, between 2010 and 2020. This study analyzes LULC dynamics and it’s impact on springs water using satellite imageries (Landsat 5 TM and Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS) and focus group discussions with the inhabitants. We used Supervised Maximum Likelihood Classification algorithm to classify attributes of the LULC changes. The results demonstrated a significant change in LULC during those ten years (2010-2020). The area covered by agricultural land and human settlements significantly increased by 313.54% and 367.14%, respectively. On the contrary, barren land, water bodies and forest cover have been reduced by 37.52%, 13.16% and 5.26%, respectively. The number of active springs followed decreasing trend as many of them were completely displaced or dried due to erosions and frequent landslides. The findings from this study are expected to facilitate the planning process adopted to prevent springs under the threat of extension and mitigate the water scarcity problem.

Keywords

Landsat, land cover, land use, springs, watershed, water bodies.

References

• Abdullah, A.Y.M., Masrur, A., Adnan, M.S.G., Baky, M.A.A., Hassan, Q.K., Dewan, A., 2019. Spatio-temporal patterns of land use/land cover change in the heterogeneous coastal region of Bangladesh between 1990 and 2017. Remote Sensing 11(7): 790.
• Adhikari, N., Pant, R.R., Rimal, B., Rai, R., 2018. Land use and land cover change in Western Nepal: A case from Phewa Watershed-Pokhara, Nepal. Himalayan Scientific Journal 9: 33-42.
• Adhikari, S., Gurung, A., Chauhan, R., Rijal, D., Dongol, B.S., Aryal, D., Talchabhadel, R., 2021. Status of springs in mountain watershed of western Nepal. Water Policy 23(1): 142-156.
• Agaton, M., Setiawan, Y., Effendi, H., 2016. Land use/land cover change detection in an urban watershed: a case study of upper Citarum Watershed, West Java Province, Indonesia. Procedia Environmental Sciences 33: 654-660.
• Alajlan, N., Bazi, Y., Melgani, F., Yager, R.R., 2012. Fusion of supervised and unsupervised learning for improved classification of hyperspectral images. Information Sciences 217: 39-55.
• Attri, P., Chaudhry, S., Sharma, S., 2015. Remote sensing & GIS-based approaches for LULC change detection–a review. International Journal of Current Engineering and Technology 5: 3126–3137.
• Baghdadi, N., Zribi, M., 2016. Land surface remote sensing in urban and coastal areas. London: ISTE Press Ltd.
• Baral, P., Wen, Y., Urriola, N.N., 2018. Forest cover changes and trajectories in a typical middle mountain watershed of western Nepal. Land 7(2): 72.
• Barquín, J., Scarsbrook, M., 2008. Management and conservation strategies for coldwater springs. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 18(5): 580-591.
• Bekele, D., Alamirew, T., Kebede, A., Zeleke, G., Melesse, A.M., 2019. Land use and land cover dynamics in the Keleta watershed, Awash River basin, Ethiopia. Environmental Hazards 18(3): 246-265.
• Bharatkar, P.S., Patel, R., 2013. Approach to accuracy assessment tor RS image classification techniques. International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research 4(12): 79–86.
• Bhat, S.U., Mushtaq, S., Qayoom, U., Sabha, I., 2020. Water quality scenario of Kashmir Himalayan Springs—A case study of Baramulla District, Kashmir Valley. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution 231(9): 1-17.
• Bufebo, B., Elias, E., 2021. Land use/land cover change and its driving forces in Shenkolla watershed, south Central Ethiopia. The Scientific World Journal Article ID 9470918.
• Cai, G., Ren, H., Yang, L., Zhang, N., Du, M., Wu, C., 2019. Detailed urban land use land cover classification at the metropolitan scale using a three-layer classification scheme. Sensors 19(14): 3120.
• Cantonati, M., Füreder, L., Gerecke, R., Jüttner, I., Cox, E.J., 2012. Crenic habitats, hotspots for freshwater biodiversity conservation: toward an understanding of their ecology. Freshwater Science 31(2): 463-480.
• CBS, 2019. Environmental Statistics of Nepal. National Planning Commission, Secretariat Central Bureau of Statistics. Government of Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal.
• Chalise, D., Kumar, L., 2020. Land use change affects water erosion in the Nepal Himalayas. PLoS ONE 15(4): e0231692.
• Chapagain, P.S., Ghimire, M., Shrestha., S. 2019. Status of natural springs in the Melamchi region of the Nepal Himalayas in the context of climate change. Environment, Development and Sustainability 21(1): 263-280.
• Chaudhary, P., Rai, S., Wangdi, S., Mao, A., Rehman, N., Chettri, S., Bawa, K. S., 2011. Consistency of local perceptions of climate change in the Kangchenjunga Himalaya landscape. Current Science 101(4): 504-513.
• Chinnasamy, P., Prathapar, S.A., 2016. Methods to investigate the hydrology of the Himalayan springs: a review. International Water Management Institute (IWMI). IWMI Working Paper 169, Colombo, Sri Lanka. 28p.
• Choudhary, R., Pathak, D., 2016. Land use/land cover change detection through temporal imageries and its implications in water induced disaster in Triyuga watershed, east Nepal. Journal of Nepal Geological Society 51: 49-54.
• Congalton, R.G., 1996. Accuracy assessment: a critical component of land cover mapping. In: Gap Analysis: A Landscape Approach to Biodiversity Planning. Scott, J.M., Tear, T.H., Davis, F. (Eds.). American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Bethesda, Maryland, USA. pp. 119–131.
• Congalton, R.G., 2001. Accuracy assessment and validation of remotely sensed and other spatial information. International Journal of Wildland Fire 10(4): 321-328.
• Dengiz, O., 2018. Potential impact of land use change on land productivity dynamics with focus on land degradation in a sub-humid terrestrial ecosystem. Theoretical and Applied Climatology 133(1): 73-88.
• Dhakal, K.R., 2010. Land use change in Khageri watershed, Chitwan. The Third Pole: Journal of Geography Education 8: 51-56.
• Dhital, Y.P., Kayastha, R.B., Shi, J., 2013. Soil bioengineering application and practices in Nepal. Environmental Management 51(2): 354-364.
• Dinka, M.O., Chaka, D.D., 2019. Analysis of land use/land cover change in Adei watershed, Central Highlands of Ethiopia. Journal of Water and Land Development 41: 146–153.
• Foley, J.A., DeFries, R., Asner, G.P., Barford, C., Bonan, G., Carpenter, S.R., Chapin, F.S., Coe, M.T., Daily, G.C., Gibbs, H.K., Helkowski, J.H., Holloway, T., Howard, E.A., Kucharik, C.J., Monfreda, C., Patz, J.A., Prentice, I.C., Ramankutty, N., Snyder, P.K., 2005. Global consequences of land use. Science 309(5734): 570–574.
• Foody, G.M., 2002. Status of land cover classification accuracy assessment. Remote Sensing of Environment 80(1): 185-201.
• Frumkin, H., 2002. Urban sprawl and public health. Public Health Reports 117: 201–217.
• Ghimire, M., Chapagain, P.S., Shrestha, S., 2019. Mapping of groundwater spring potential zone using geospatial techniques in the Central Nepal Himalayas: a case example of Melamchi–Larke area. Journal of Earth System Science 128: 26.
• Gurung, G.B., Bhandari, D., 2009. Integrated approach to climate change adaptation. Journal of Forest and Livelihood 8(1): 91-99.
• Herold, M., Scepan, J., Clarke, K.C., 2002. The use of remote sensing and landscape metrics to describe structures and changes in urban land uses. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space 34(8): 1443-1458.
• Ibeneme, S.I., Ukiwe, L.N., Essien, A.G., Nwagbara, J.O., Nweze, C.A., Chinemelu, E.S. Ivonye, C.A., 2013. Assessment of the chemical characteristics of a spring water source at Ife-Owutu, Ezinihite-Mbaise, Southeastern Nigeria. American Journal of Engineering Research (AJER) 2(10): 282-290.
• ICIMOD, 2015. Reviving the drying springs reinforcing social development and economic growth in the Midhills of Nepal. International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Lalitpur, Nepal, pp. 1–6.
• Ishtiaque, A., Shrestha, M., Chhetri, N., 2017. Rapid urban growth in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal: Monitoring land use land cover dynamics of a himalayan city with landsat imageries. Environments 4(4): 72.
• Jensen, J.R., 2005. Introductory Digital Image Processing: A Remote Sensing Perspective. 3rd Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.
• Kadhim, N., Mourshed, M., Bray, M., 2016. Advances in remote sensing applications for urban sustainability. Euro-Mediterranean Journal for Environmental Integration 1: 7.
• Kandel, C.M., Caetano, M., Cabral, P., 2010. Forest cover monitoring of Bara district (Nepal) using remote sensing and geographic information systems. Banko Janakari 20(1): 30-36.
• Koirala, S., 2010. Land use/ land cover change and its impact on soil erosion process in Begnas Tal Rupa Tal watershed using geospatial tools, Kaski district, Nepal. Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies, University of NOVA, Lisbon. 62p. Available at [Access date: 10.09.2022]: https://run.unl.pt/bitstream/10362/2732/4/TGEO0030.pdf
• Lambin, E.F., Turner, B.L., Geist, H.J., Agbola, S.B., Angelsen, A., Bruce, J.W., Coomes, O.T., Dirzo, R., Fischer, G., Folke, C., George, P.S., Homewood, K., Imbernon, J., Leemans, R., Li, X., Morgan, E.F., Mortimore, M., Ramakrishnan, P.S., Xu, J., 2001. The causes of land-use and land-cover change: moving beyond the myths. Global Environmental Change 11(4): 261–269.
• Li, C., Ma, Z., Wang, L., Yu, W., Tan, D., Gao, B., Feng, Q., Guo, H., Zhao, Y., 2021. Improving the accuracy of land cover mapping by distributing training samples. Remote Sensing 13(22): 4594.
• Li, Y., Wang, C., 2009. Impacts of urbanization on surface runoff of the Dardenne Creek watershed, St. Charles County, Missouri. Physical Geography 30(6): 556-573.
• Lillesand, T.M., Kiefer, R.W., Chipman, J.W., 2015. Remote Sensing and Image Interpretation, 7th Ed. Wiley, 750p.
• Liping, C., Yujun, S., Saeed, S., 2018. Monitoring and predicting land use and land cover changes using remote sensing and GIS techniques - A case study of a hilly area, Jiangle, China. PLoS ONE 13(7): e0200493.
• Liu, Y., Huang, X., Yang, H., Zhong, T., 2014. Environmental effects of land-use/cover change caused by urbanization and policies in Southwest China Karst area–A case study of Guiyang. Habitat International 44: 339-348.
• Lo, C.P., Yeung, A.K., 2007. Concepta and Techniques of Geographic Information Systems. Pearson Prentice Hall. 732p.
• LRMP, 1986. Land Utilization Report. Land Resource Mapping Project, Kenting Earth Science Canada and Department of Topography, Government of Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal. p 112.
• Lu, D., Weng, Q., 2005. Urban classification using full spectral information of Landsat ETM+ imagery in Marion County, Indiana. Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing 71(11): 1275-1284.
• Maharjan, A., Kochhar, I., Chitale, V.S., Hussain, A., Gioli, G., 2020. Understanding rural outmigration and agricultural land use change in the Gandaki Basin, Nepal. Applied Geography 124: 102278.
• Miller, J.D., Immerzeel, W.W., Rees, G., 2012. Climate change impacts on glacier hydrology and river discharge in the Hindu Kush–Himalayas. Mountain Research and Development 32(4): 461-467.
• MoAD, Agriculture Development Strategy (ADS), 2015. Government of Nepal, Ministry of Agricultural Development, Singhdurbar: Kathmandu, Nepal.
• Muller, D., Zeller, M., 2002. Land use dynamics in the central highlands of Vietnam: a spatial model combining village survey data with satellite imagery interpretation. Agricultural Economics 27(3): 333-354.
• Niyogi D., Mahmood R., Adegoke, J.O., 2009. Land Use/Land-Cover Change and Its Impacts on Weather and Climate. Boundary Layer Meterology 133: 297–298.
• Norovsuren, B., Tseveen, B., Batomunkuev, V., Renchin, T., Natsagdorj, E., Yangiv, A., Mart, Z., 2019. Land cover classification using maximum likelihood method (2000 and 2019) at Khandgait valley in Mongolia. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 381: 012054.
• Odum, H.T., 1971. Fundamentals of ecology. Saunders. Philadelphia, USA. 574p.
• Panigrahi, S., Verma, K., Tripathi, P., 2017. Data mining algorithms for land cover change detection: a review. Sādhanā 42(12): 2081-2097.
• Panthi, J., Khatiwada, K.R., Shrestha, M.L., Dahal, P., 2019. Water poverty in the context of climate change: a case study from Karnali river basin in Nepal Himalaya. International Journal of River Basin Management 17(2): 243–250.
• Parajuli, K., Joshi, J., Gautam, J., 2019. Major Springs and Their Status in Mid-Hills of Nepal: A Case Study of Samdi Micro-Watershed of Dhandkhola Watershed, Tanahun. Proceeding Research Seminar on Climate Change, Clean Energy. 8 March 2019, Hetauda, Makwanpur, Nepal. pp. 10-15.
• Paudel, B., Zhang, Y.L., Li, S.C., Liu, L.S., Wu, X., Khanal, N.R., 2016. Review of studies on land use and land cover change in Nepal. Journal of Mountain Science 13(4): 643-660.
• Porfiriev, B., 2015. Climate change as a major slow-onset hazard to development: An integrated approach to bridge the policy gap. Environmental Hazards 14(2): 187-191.
• Rakhmonov, S., Umurzakov, U., Rakhmonov, K., Bozarov, I., Karamatov, O., 2021. Land use and land cover change in Khorezm, Uzbekistan. Annual International Scientific Conference on Geoinformatics – GI 2021: “Supporting sustainable development by GIST” E3S Web of Conferences 227: 01002.
• Regasa, M.S., Nones, M., Adeba, D., 2021. A review on land use and land cover change in Ethiopian basins. Land 10(6): 585.
• Reid, R.S., Kruska, R.L., Muthui, N., Taye, A., Wotton, S., Wilson, C.J., Mulatu, W., 2000. Land-use and land-cover dynamics in response to changes in climatic, biological and socio-political forces: the case of southwestern Ethiopia. Landscape Ecology 15(4): 339-355.
• Rimal, B., Baral, H., Stork, N.E., Paudyal, K., Rijal, S., 2015. Growing city and rapid land use transition: Assessing multiple hazards and risks in the Pokhara Valley, Nepal. Land 4(4): 957-978.
• Rimal, B., Zhang, L., Keshtkar, H., Haack, B.N., Rijal, S., Zhang, P., 2018. Land use/land cover dynamics and modeling of urban land expansion by the integration of cellular automata and markov chain. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information 7(4): 154.
• Rimal, B., Zhang, L., Keshtkar, H., Sun, X., Rijal, S., 2018. Quantifying the spatiotemporal pattern of urban expansion and hazard and risk area identification in the Kaski District of Nepal. Land 7(1): 37.
• Rogan, J., Chen, D., 2004. Remote sensing technology for mapping and monitoring land-cover and land-use change. Progress in Planning 61: 301-325.
• Rwanga, S.S., Ndambuki, J.M., 2017. Accuracy assessment of land use/land cover classification using remote sensing and GIS. International Journal of Geosciences 8(04): 611.
• Sharma, B., Nepal, S., Gyawali, D., Pokharel, G.S., Wahid, S., Mukherji, A., Acharya, S., Shrestha, A.B., 2016. Springs, storage towers, and water conservation in the midhills of Nepal. International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development. ICIMOD Working Paper 2016/3, Kathmandu, Nepal. 45p.
• Shiferaw, A., Singh, K.L., 2011. Evaluating the land use and land cover dynamics in Borena Woreda of South Wollo Highlands, Ethiopia. Ethiopian Journal of Business and Economics 2(1): 69–104.
• Soussan, J., Shrestha, B.K., Uprety, L.P., 1995. The social dynamics of deforestation: a case study from Nepal. Taylor & Francis. 170p.
• Talchabhadel, R., Karki, R., Thapa, B.R., Maharjan, M., Parajuli, B., 2018. Spatio‐temporal variability of extreme precipitation in Nepal. International Journal of Climatology 38(11): 4296-4313.
• Tambe, S., Kharel, G., Arrawatia, M.L., Kulkarni, H., Mahamuni, K., Ganeriwala, A.K., 2012. Reviving dying springs: climate change adaptation experiments from the Sikkim Himalaya. Mountain Research and Development 32(1): 62-72.
• Thapa, G.B., Weber, K.E., 1995. Status and management of watersheds in the Upper Pokhara Valley, Nepal. Environmental Management 19(4): 497-513.
• Tiwari, P.C., 2000. Land-use changes in Himalaya and their impact on the plains ecosystem: need for sustainable land use. Land Use Policy 17(2): 101-111.
• Tripathi, S., Subedi, R., Adhikari, H., 2020. Forest cover change pattern after the intervention of community forestry management system in the mid-hill of Nepal: A case study. Remote Sensing 12(17): 2756.
• Vahtmäe, E., Kutser, T., Kotta, J., Pärnoja, M., Möller, T., Lennuk, L., 2012. Mapping Baltic Sea shallow water environments with airborne remote sensing. Oceanology 52(6): 803-809.
• von Fumetti, S., Bieri‐Wigger, F., Nagel, P., 2017. Temperature variability and its influence on macroinvertebrate assemblages of alpine springs. Ecohydrology 10(7): e1878.
• Wang, S.W., Gebru, B.M., Lamchin, M., Kayastha, R.B., Lee, W.K., 2020. Land use and land cover change detection and prediction in the Kathmandu district of Nepal using remote sensing and GIS. Sustainability 12(9): 3925.
• Weng, Q., 2001. A remote sensing? GIS evaluation of urban expansion and its impact on surface temperature in the Zhujiang Delta, China. International Journal of Remote Sensing 22(10): 1999-2014.
• Xie, Y., Sha, Z., Yu, M., 2008. Remote sensing imagery in vegetation mapping: a review. Journal of Plant Ecology 1(1): 9-23.
• Yang, J.L., Zhang, G.L., 2011. Water infiltration in urban soils and its effects on the quantity and quality of runoff. Journal of Soils and Sediments 11(5): 751-761.
• Yang, W., Yin, X., Xia, G.S., 2015. Learning high-level features for satellite image classification with limited labeled samples. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing 53(8): 4472-4482.
• Yuan, F., Sawaya, K.E., Loeffelholz, B.C., Bauer, M.E., 2005. Land cover classification and change analysis of the Twin Cities (Minnesota) Metropolitan Area by multitemporal Landsat remote sensing. Remote Sensing of Environment 98(2-3): 317-328.
• Zhang, C., Chen, Y., Lu, D., 2015. Mapping the land-cover distribution in arid and semiarid urban landscapes with Landsat Thematic Mapper imagery. International Journal of Remote Sensing 36(17): 4483-4500.
• Zhang, G., Cao, Z., Gu, Y., 2005. A hybrid classifier based on rough set theory and support vector machines. In: Fuzzy Systems and Knowledge Discovery. FSKD 2005. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 3613. Wang, L., Jin, Y. (Eds.). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. pp. 1287-1296.