Abstract

Spatio-temporal patterns of four neighboring riverscapes in the central Western Ghats through land use analyses using temporal remote sensing data (1973, 2018), reveal a decline of evergreen forests (41%) and fragmentation of intact or contiguous forests (60%). Hydro-ecological footprint illustrates that the catchment integrity plays a decisive role in sustaining water for the societal and ecological needs, evident from the occurrence of perennial streams in the catchment dominated by native flora with the forest cover >60%, highlighting the riverscape dynamics with the hydrological, ecological, social and environmental dimensions linkages and water sustainability. This helps in evolving strategies to adopt integrated watershed management to sustain the anthropogenic and environmental water demand.

Key Words: Lotic ecosystems, Central Western Ghats, Land use, Eco-Hydrological Footprint, Biodiversity, Water quality.