Akhilesh Nautiyal, Anurag Gunsola, Samarth Y. Bhatia
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
This study examines land use and land cover (LULC) changes in the Tehri region from 2000 to 2024, utilizing the Shannon Entropy Index (H) as an indicator of sustainable urban growth by analyzing spatial dispersion patterns of built‐up areas. Landsat imagery from 2000, 2010, 2020, and 2024 was classified into barren land, built‐up areas, forest areas, and water bodies using the Maximum Likelihood Classifier. In 2000, barren land dominated with 53.23%, followed by forests at 42.54%, built‐up areas at 3.75%, and water bodies at 0.48%. By 2024, forests expanded to 51.67%, barren land decreased to 33.16%, built‐up areas grew significantly to 14.55%, and water bodies increased slightly to 0.63%. The Shannon Entropy Index was calculated based on proximity to the city center and major road networks, dividing the study area into zones. Results reveal a rising normalized Shannon Entropy Index for the city center (HC′) and main road (HR′), with values of 0.978 and 0.58 in 2024, reflecting increased urban fragmentation. Zones 8 and 16 exhibited the highest spatial dispersion (0.96), indicating irregular development patterns and outward expansion. In 2000, the Tehri region was classified as type D. Over the years, it has mostly shifted to type B, showing more dispersed and possibly unsustainable growth. We advocate for a comprehensive space utilization control strategy that integrates the city center and the peri‐urban area. This research demonstrates the utility of the Shannon Entropy Index in identifying potential zones of unsustainable development in hilly regions and offers a replicable framework for other areas with similar topographical and developmental dynamics.
期刊介绍:
Land Degradation & Development is an international journal which seeks to promote rational study of the recognition, monitoring, control and rehabilitation of degradation in terrestrial environments. The journal focuses on:
- what land degradation is;
- what causes land degradation;
- the impacts of land degradation
- the scale of land degradation;
- the history, current status or future trends of land degradation;
- avoidance, mitigation and control of land degradation;
- remedial actions to rehabilitate or restore degraded land;
- sustainable land management.