Monitoring Culturable Wastelands Using Satellite Images in A Part of Tarai Region of Uttar Pradesh

Abstract

Land is a basic natural resource on which development of human with other living beings. Inadequate management of natural resources has affected biodiversity, agriculture productivity and ecological balance. It is necessary not only to conserve the degrading natural resources but also to bring in available culturable wastelands under agriculture after reclamation to achieve required production of food. Salt affected wastelands, waterlogged & marshy lands and undulating lands are the common culturable wastelands found in the Tarai region of Uttar Pradesh. In this study the land use changes have been monitored over a period of 16 years in a cluster of villages in a part of Lakhimpur District, using Google earth imageries and GIS software. An on-screen visual interpretation of satellite imageries of 2003, 2011, 2015 and 2019 to monitor land use changes revealed a decrease in culturable wastelands by 46.19 % and increase in agricultural area from 69.34 % to 83.79 % in a period of 16 years. The progressive farmers have used pressmud, which is readily available from nearby sugar mills for reclamation of culturable wastelands.