Shifting cultivation induced burn area dynamics using ensemble approach in Northeast India

Bibliographic Data

ID19587166
AuthorsPulakesh Das (0000-0002-0508-7219), Mukunda Dev Behera (0000-0002-9976-6270, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, corresponding author), Saroj Kanta Barik (0000-0002-1795-9539, National Botanical Research Institute), Sujoy Mudi (0000-0002-5056-7895, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur), Buddolla Jagadish (Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur), Swarup Sarkar (0000-0001-9487-1955, Vidyasagar University), Santa Ram Joshi (0000-0003-1942-3110, North Eastern Hill University), Dibyendu Adhikari (0000-0002-5057-0541, National Botanical Research Institute), Soumit K Behera (0000-0002-9181-3263, National Botanical Research Institute), Kiranmay Sarma (Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University), Prashant K Srivastava (0000-0002-4155-630X, Banaras Hindu University), Puneet Singh Chauhan (0000-0001-5955-8656, National Botanical Research Institute)
Year2022
Volume7
Pages100183
Publication date2022-03-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueTrees Forests and People (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2666-7193 • E-ISSN: 2666-7193
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.tfp.2021.100183
OpenAlexW4200534688
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited27

Identifying shifting cultivation areas and assessing their spatio-temporal dynamics are essential in framing climate-adaptive policies for efficient forest management and agriculture practices for the benefit of people. The current study attempts to develop an alternative approach to classify the shifting cultivation areas using an ensemble technique, integrating multiple spectral indices in three states of northeast India (NEI), such as Assam, Manipur, and Meghalaya. The adopted approach integrates green cover and leaf water content changes during shifting cultivation land preparation in Landsat imagery. The deforested burned area patches were identified based on threshold values using Landsat data-derived indices on vegetation, burned area and leaf water, and digital elevation model (DEM). The ensemble approach provided shifting cultivation maps with good overall accuracy (> 83%). The maximum shifting cultivation area was observed in Assam (126.87 km2), followed by Meghalaya (51.53 km2) and Manipur (46.04 km2) in 2016. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and NDVI difference performed better than other vegetation indices. The ensemble approach can be applied in other regions with minor modifications in threshold values, thus having the potential for accounting to shifting cultivation dynamics on an operational basis. Future research may include blending local traditional knowledge and modern scientific solutions for improved forest and land resources planning for the benefit of inhabitants and the mountain environment under the climate change scenarios

Agriculture · Climate change · Digital elevation model · Environmental resource management · Geography · Land cover · Land use · Normalized Difference Vegetation Index · Physical geography · Remote sensing · Shifting cultivation · Environmental Science · Fire effects on ecosystems · Land Use and Ecosystem Services · Remote Sensing in Agriculture · Ecology · Geology

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