Spatiotemporal dynamics of land use and cropping systems in the young meghna estuarine floodplain

To explore long-term changes in land use and land cover (LULC), cropping systems, and driving forces of LULC change, a study was carried out in Subarnachar upazila under the Young Meghna Estuarine Floodplain in Bangladesh. For studying LULC change and cropping systems, images from Landsat (TM) of 1989, Landsat (ETM+) of 2000 and 2010, and Landsat (Oli) of 2019 were used. A focus group discussion (FGD) was conducted to gather information on actors driving LULC changes. In the study area, five LULC categories—cropland, accreted land, settlements, mangrove forests, and water bodies were found. It reveals that cropland increased by 0.20% annually, while water bodies, accreted land, and mangrove forest decreased by 0.29, 0.17, and 0.23%, respectively. Settlements grew relatively at a faster rate (0.49%). The major land conversions between 1989 and 2019 were cropland to settlement (10.2%), mangrove forest to settlement area (3.2%), and mangrove forest to cropland area (4.0%). Other transformations included the shifting of accreted land to cropland and water bodies to settlements. From 1989 to 2019, double cropland increased by 0.71% annually due to the conversion of single to double cropland. Increased population pressure, especially for those displaced by the threat of river erosion, was a major factor in the conversion of cropland and mangroves into settlements. Due to the high demand for food in the study area, mangrove forests were converted to cropland and single cropland to double cropland more rapidly. These findings will assist farmers, stakeholders, and planners in developing and implementing optimal land use planning and sustainable agricultural production strategies in the region. Ann. Bangladesh Agric. (2023) 27 (1) : 1-15