Journal of Forest and Environmental Science

Institute of Forest Science, kangwon National University (강원대학교 산림과학연구소)
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Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) Change in Suburb of Central Himalayas: A Study from Chandragiri, Kathmandu

  • Received : 2020.07.03
  • Accepted : 2020.12.04
  • Published : 2021.03.31
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Abstract

Rapid urbanization and population growth have caused substantial land use land cover (LULC) change in the Kathmandu valley. The lack of temporal and geographical data regarding LULC in the middle mountain region like Kathmandu has been challenging to assess the changes that have occurred. The purpose of this study is to investigate the changes in LULC in Chandragiri Municipality between 1996 and 2017 using geographical information system (GIS) and remote sensing. Using Landsat imageries of 1996 and 2017, this study analyzed the LULC change over 21 years. The images were classified using the Maximum Likelihood classification method and post classified using the change detection technique in GIS. The result shows that severe land cover changes have occurred in the Forest (11.63%), Built-up areas (3.68%), Agriculture (-11.26%), Shrubland (-0.15%), and Bareland (-3.91%) in the region from 1996 to 2017. This paper highlights the use of GIS and remote sensing in understanding the changes in LULC in the south-west part of Kathmandu valley.

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References

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