ID: 54862
Title: Land suitability Studies for Major Crops in Pavagada Taluk, Karnataka using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques.
Author: A. Sathish . K.V. Niranjana,
Editor: Prof. B. L. Deekshatulu
Year: 2010
Publisher: Indian Society of Remote Sensing, Vol 38, March 2010
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: None
Subject: Indian Society of Remote Sensing
Keywords: Land evaluation . Land suitability . Analyses . Soil suitability analyses . Remote sensing . Geographic Information System.
Abstract: Pavagada taluk of Tumkur district in
Karnataka is one of the most backward taluks
receiving less than 500 mm annual rainfall. The
maximum area of the taluk is under monocropping,
reasons for the same were not documented well. The
present study was carried out using remote sensing
data along with field survey and laboratory analysis
for assessing the potentials and limitations of soil.
Using the basic information on soil, climate and
topography based on the matching exercise between
the growth and production requirements of the crop,
suitability of soils for groundnut, paddy and finger
millet was assessed as per FAO land evaluation. The
soil suitability maps were prepared using Arc GIS
software. About 48 per cent of the total area was
moderate to marginally suitable and 13 per cent of the
area was not suitable for both groundnut and finger
millet. Lowland areas covering 12 per cent of the area
was highly suitable, 15 per cent was moderate to
marginally suitable and 20 per cent was not suitable
for paddy cultivation.
Location: 215
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 54861
Title: Spatial Modeling and validation of Forest Cover Change in Kanakapura Region using GEOMOD
Author: M.K. Rashmi . N. Lele
Editor: Prof. B. L. Deekshatulu
Year: 2010
Publisher: Indian Society of Remote Sensing, Vol 38, March 2010
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: None
Subject: Indian Society of Remote Sensing
Keywords: Deforestation . Predictive modeling . GEOMOD . Validation . Kanakapura
Abstract: Deforestation is recognized as one of the
most significant components in LULCC and global
changes scenario. It is imperative to assess its trend
and the rate at which it is occurring. The changes will
have long-lasting impact on regional climate and in
turn on biodiversity. Present study was taken up in
Kanakapura and surrounding areas located on the
fringes of Western Ghats biodiversity hot-spots.
Temporal satellite data from Landsat was classified
into forest cover maps. Drivers of forest cover
changes such as roads and settlements were used in
order to create predicted map of the region using
GEOMOD tool in Idrisi Andes. The predicted map
was then validated using actual land cover map of
same year prepared from Landsat data. The validated
map was found to be 84.26 % accurate. The validation
was also tested using ROC approach which was found
to be 0.614. The model was then further extended to
predict forest cover losses for year 2015. The results
highlight ongoing deforestation in the areas adjoining
Western Ghats. It also presents an application of the
tool and the validation methods which can be used in
predictive modeling related studies
Location: 215
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 54860
Title: Estimation of Glacier Depth and Moraine Cover Study using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) in the Himalayan Region
Author: K.K. Singh . A.V. Kulkarni . V.D. Mishra
Editor: Prof. B. L. Deekshatulu
Year: 2010
Publisher: Indian Society of Remote Sensing, Vol 38, March 2010
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: None
Subject: Indian Society of Remote Sensing
Keywords: GPR . Glacier depth . Himalaya . Moraine . Dielectric contrast
Abstract: Himalayan region has one of the largest
concentrations of mountain glaciers whose areal extent
is changing due to global warming. In order to assess
future changes in glacier extent due to global warming,
information about glacier depth and debris cover is
important. In this paper, application of ground
penetrating radar (GPR) is discussed to assess glacier
depth and debris cover. This investigation was carried
out at Patseo and Samudratapu glaciers in Himachal
Pradesh (West Himalaya). Antennas of frequency 50
and 100 MHz have been used for glacier depth and
500 MHz for moraine depth estimation. GPR signatures
of glaciers were collected and further analyzed using
velocities of electromagnetic waves in different media.
The depth of Patseo glacier was estimated as 40 m.
However, depth of the larger Samudra Tapu glacier
could not be estimated using 50 and 100 MHz
antennas. The depth of moraines was estimated using
500 MHz antenna and it varies from 0.35 cm to 0.85 cm
for medial and around 1-2 m for lateral moraine at the
experimental site.
Location: 215
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 54859
Title: Relationship of Bidirectional Reflectance of Wheat with Biophysical Parameters and its Radiative Transfer Modeling using Prosail
Author: D. Barman . V. K. Sehgal . R. N. Sahoo . S. Nagarajan
Editor: Prof. B. L. Deekshatulu
Year: 2010
Publisher: Indian Society of Remote Sensing, Vol 38, March 2010
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: None
Subject: Indian Society of Remote Sensing
Keywords: BRDF . Hotspot . Spectro-radiometer . Canopy geometry . NDVI
Abstract: The algorithms for deriving vegetation
biophysical parameters rely on the understanding of
bi-directional interaction of radiation and its
subsequent linkages with canopy radiative transfer
models and their inversion. In this study, an attempt
has been made to define the geometry of sensor and
source position to best relate plant biophysical
parameters with bidirectional reflectance of wheat
varieties varying in canopy architecture and to
validate the performance of PROSAIL
(PROSPECT+SAIL) canopy radiative transfer model.
A field experiment was conducted with two wheat
cultivars varying in canopy geometry and phenology.
The bidirectional measurements between 400nm-
1100nm at 5nm interval were recorded every week at
six view azimuth and four view zenith positions using
spectro-radiometer. Canopy biophysical parameters
were recorded synchronous to bi-directional
reflectance measurements. The broadband
reflectances were used to compute the NDVIs which
were subsequently related to leaf area index and
biomass. Results showed that the bidirectional
reflectance increased with increase in view zenith from
200 to 600 irrespective of the sensor azimuth. For a
given view zenith, the reflectance was observed to be
maximum at 1500 azimuth where the difference between
the sun and sensor azimuth was least. For sun azimuth
of 1600 and zenith of 520, the view geometry defined
by 1500 azimuth and 500 zenith corresponded to
hotspot position. The measured bidirectional NDVI
had significant logarithmic relationship with LAI and
linear relationship with biomass for both the varieties
of wheat and maximum correlation of NDVI with LAI
and with biomass was obtained at the hotspot
position. The PROSAIL validation results showed
that the model simulated well the overall shape of
spectra for all combination of view zenith and azimuth
position for both wheat varieties with overall RMSE
less than 5 per cent. The hotspot and dark spot
positions were also well simulated and hence model
performance may be suitable for deriving wheat
biophysical parameters using satellite derived
reflectances.
Location: 215
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 54858
Title: Detection of Sub-Surface Waterlogging using Terra-1 MODIS Data
Author: K. Sreenivas . R.S. Dwivedi . A.N. Singh . S. Raviprakash
Editor: Prof. B. L. Deekshatulu
Year: 2010
Publisher: Indian Society of Remote Sensing, Vol 38, March 2010
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: None
Subject: Indian Society of Remote Sensing
Keywords: Waterlogging . Thermal . SWIR . LST . MODIS
Abstract: Waterlogging due to rising ground watertable,
being a sub-surface phenomenon, is not
amenable to detection by optical remote sensing.
Microwave and thermal sensor data have, however,
shown some promise in the detection of sub-surface
waterlogging. The present study was taken up to
evaluate the potential of near-IR, short-wave IR
(SWIR) and thermal- IR data from Moderate
Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) aboard
Terra-1 acquired during day-and-night time postmonsoon
data for detection of sub-surface waterlogging. The approach involves retrieval of
day-and-night land surface temperature (LST),
generation of normalized difference of channel-2 and
6 (ND26); 2 and 7 (ND27); ground truth collection
involving concurrent ground water table
observations to satellite date of pass, thresholding
of normalized differences (NDs) and correlating the
NDs with depth of ground water table. Amongst
various spectral indices, day and night-time LST
difference (DLST) and night-time LST have been
found to correlate well with the incidence of
waterlogging (water table depth < 2m), followed by
normalized difference of band-2 (841-876 nm) and
band-7 (2105-2155 nm). The sensitivity of threshold
limits for these indices was maximum for DLST
followed by ND26 and ND27. Poor accuracy of
detecting sub-surface waterlogging with thermal
bands during day time is attributed to the noncorresponding
of the time of Terra MODIS data
acquisitions with thermal maxima of the terrain.
Though the ND27 gave better accuracy to detect subsurface
waterlogging, it is very sensitive to threshold
limits.
Location: 215
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 54857
Title: Study of the Optimum Time Span for Distinguishing Avena ludoviciana from Wheat Crop Based on Their Spectral Reflectance Characteristics
Author: R. Kaur . R. K. Mahey . J. Mukherjee
Editor: Prof. B. L. Deekshatulu
Year: 2010
Publisher: Indian Society of Remote Sensing, Vol 38, March 2010
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: None
Subject: Indian Society of Remote Sensing
Keywords: Wheat . Avena ludoviciana . Crop-weed discrimination . Remote Sensing .Spectral signatures
Abstract: The study to establish the optimum time
span for distinguishing Avena ludoviciana from
wheat crop based on their spectral signatures was
carried out at Student?s Research Farm, Department
of Agronomy during 2006-07 and 2007-08. The
experimental sites during both the seasons were
sandy loam in texture, with normal soil reaction and
electrical conductivity, low in organic carbon and
available nitrogen and medium in available
phosphorus and potassium. The experiment was laid
out in randomized block design with four replications
and consisting of twelve treatments comprising 0, 10,
15, 25, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 200, 250 plants m-2 and a
pure Avena ludoviciana plot (Tmax). The results
revealed that in all the treatments irrespective of
wheat and weeds, the red reflectance (%) value
decreased from 34 to 95 DAS (days after sowing) in
2006-07 and 45 DAS to 100 DAS during 2007-08, and
thereafter a sharp increase was observed in all the
treatments. This trend might be due to increased
chlorophyll index after 34 DAS as red reflectance was
reduced by chlorophyll absorption. Among all the
treatments, Tmax (Pure Avena ludoviciana plot) had
the highest red reflectance and T0 (Pure wheat plot)
had a lowest value of red reflectance during both the
years. The highest value of IR reflectance was
obtained at 95 DAS (2006-07) and 70 DAS (2007-08)
in all the treatments. IR reflectance of wheat crop
ranged between 24.61 and 61.21 per cent during 2006-
07 and 27.33 and 67.3 per cent during 2007-08.
However, IR reflectance values declined after 95 DAS
and 70 DAS up to harvesting during 2006-07 and
2007-08. This lower reflectance may have been due
to the onset of senescence. The highest RR and
NDVI values were recorded under pure wheat
treatment and minimum under pure weed plots. This
may be due to dark green colour and better vigor of
the wheat as compared to Avena ludoviciana. It was
observed that by using RR and NDVI, pure wheat
can be distinguished from pure populations of Avena
ludoviciana after 34 DAS and different levels of
weed populations can be discriminated amongst
themselves from 68 DAS up to 107 DAS during both
the years of investigation.
Location: 215
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 54856
Title: Can Suspended Sediment Concentrations be estimated from Multispectral Imagery using only Image-derived Information?
Author: M. Onderka . M. Rodn?
Editor: Prof. B. L. Deekshatulu
Year: 2010
Publisher: Indian Society of Remote Sensing, Vol 38, March 2010
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: None
Subject: Indian Society of Remote Sensing
Keywords: Self-calibration . Suspended sediments . Saturation . Model transferability . Optimization
Abstract: Sampling for suspended sediment
concentrations (SSC) in inland waters is traditionally
based on collecting samples at sparse locations and
in limited intervals. A number of investigators explored
the utility of earth-observing satellites and air-borne
sensors for monitoring of SSC over vast areas. Two
approaches are commonly deployed: (1) empirical
relationships between a chosen remotely sensed
quantity and the actual in-situ SSC; and (2) bio-optical
models founded on radiative transfer modeling.
Unfortunately, in-situ measurements are often
unavailable for direct image calibration, and inherent
optical properties of optically active constituents
(specific scattering and absorption coefficients) are
usually unknown. This paper examines the possibility
to retrieve SSC from multispectral satellite imagery
without any in-situ data, i.e. using only image-derived
information. The fundamental principle of image selfcalibration
relies on the fact that in the visual domain
of wavelengths (~400-700 nm) the at-sensor
reflectance becomes ?saturated? at high SSC, whereas
the near-infrared domain (~700-900 nm) remains almost
perfectly linearly related to sediment concentrations.
The core idea of the self-calibrating procedure is rather
simple and is based on fitting an exponential function
between reflectance and SSC, with SSC replaced by a
linear relationship between SSC and reflectance in
the near-infrared domain. As a first approximation of
the non-linearity between reflectance and SSC levels
in the 400-700 nm range, we used the equation
proposed by Schiebe et al. (1992), although other
equations, especially those arising from optical theory
could be used as well. The technique is illustrated on
a moderately sediment-laden reservoir and two scenes
acquired from Landsat ETM+. The standard error of
the estimated SSC was below 15 mg/L (i.e. ~25 %
relative error for the observed range of SSC). Although
the proposed algorithm does not yield better results
than other models mentioned in the literature, the
primary advantage of the outlined methodology is
that no in-situ measurements (water sampling nor
spectral profiling) are needed - i.e. only image-derived
information is used.
Location: 215
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 54855
Title: Spatial Analysis of Anthropogenic Disturbances in Mangrove Forests of Bhitarkanika Conservation Area, India
Author: K.R. Ambastha . S. A. Hussain . R. Badola . P. S. Roy
Editor: Prof. B. L. Deekshatulu
Year: 2010
Publisher: Indian Society of Remote Sensing, Vol 38, March 2010
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: None
Subject: Indian Society of Remote Sensing
Keywords: Mangrove Forests . Anthropogenic Disturbance . Remote Sensing . Geographic Information Systems (GIS) . Resource Use . Total Use Value
Abstract: The dependence of coastal communities
on mangrove forests for direct consumptive use due
to the scarcity of alternate resources makes them one
of the highly disturbed landscapes. This paper
examines the spatial characteristics and extent of
anthropogenic disturbances affecting the mangrove
forests of Bhitarkanika Conservation Area situated
along the east coast of India by using remotely
sensed data and GIS, supplemented with
socioeconomic surveys. The study reveals that
resource extractions from these forests were
considerable despite the protected status. Around
14% of the total fuel wood consumed annually in each
of the household came from the mangrove forests of
the Park. The patterns of consumption were spatially
heterogeneous, controlled by the availability of
alternatives, ease of accessibility, presence of markets,
human density, and forest composition. The
disturbance surface showed 30% of the major forest
classes to be under high to very high levels of
disturbance especially at easy access points. Besides,
the distribution of economically useful species also
determined the degree of disturbance. Resource use
surfaces clearly identified the biotic pressure zones
with respect to specific mangrove use and could be
combined with the disturbance regime map to
prioritize areas for mangrove restoration.
Location: 215
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 54854
Title: Space Based Disaster Management of 2008 Kosi Floods, North Bihar, India
Author: C. M. Bhatt . G. S. Rao . P. Manjushree . V. Bhanumurthy
Editor: Prof. B. L. Deekshatulu
Year: 2010
Publisher: Indian Society of Remote Sensing, Vol 38, March 2010
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: None
Subject: Indian Society of Remote Sensing
Keywords: Remote Sensing . Kosi . Breach . Flood . Bihar.
Abstract: One of the most important elements in flood
disaster management is the availability of timely
information for taking decisions and actions by the
authorities. During the August 18, 2008 Kosi floods
which impacted India and Nepal and affected more
than three million people, aero-space technology
proved to be a critical input for providing vital
information on flood inundation. The satellite based
flood inundation maps were extensively used for
identifying marooned villages, submerged roads and
railway tracks and carrying out the relief and rescue
operations by the state agencies. Decision Support
Centre (DSC) at National Remote Sensing Centre
(NRSC) kept a constant watch on the flood situation.
More than 200 flood inundation maps, using about
30 satellite datasets were generated and provided in
near real time mode to the state agencies during
August to October, 2008. DSC efforts were primarily
focused in providing an overall picture of the flood
situation in a short span of time to the state agencies.
The present paper discusses about the operational
use of remote sensing technology for near real time
flood mapping, monitoring of Kosi floods and the
satellite based observations made for the Kosi river
breach.
Location: 215
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 54853
Title: Assessment and Development of algorithms to detection of Oil Spills using MODIS Data
Author: H. Srivastava . T. P. Singh
Editor: Prof. B. L. Deekshatulu
Year: 2010
Publisher: Indian Society of Remote Sensing, Vol 38, March 2010
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: None
Subject: Indian Society of Remote Sensing
Keywords: Oil spills . Hyper-Spectral . MODIS . High Resolution Bands
Abstract: Oil spill detection and subsequent
monitoring are of major concern for coastal zone
management as they form potential marine pollutants.
The present study is based on examining the
feasibility of Moderate Resolution Imaging
Spectroradiometer (MODIS) high resolution bands
(250 and 500 m) for detection of oil spill. The MODIS
- Aqua for 18, 19 and 20th January 2003 were used to
study the oil spill in Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela. The
examination of L1B and L2 data revealed that L2
products such as SST, Rrs and BRDF were not very
useful due to erroneous atmospheric corrections.
Visual examination of raw radiance data i.e. L1B data
in the 250 and 500 m spatial resolution was found to
be the simplest yet feasible method for spill detection.
The study further revealed that atmospherically
uncorrected radiances at 469, 555 and 645 nm were
showing significant signature of oil spill. Therefore
an attempt was made to perform ratio operations to
enhance the feature. The study concluded that the
ratio of difference and sum at 645 and 555 nm,
normalized by 469 nm, provides the best result. The
result was validated by comparing with the previous
published literature. The result clearly indicates the
potential of MODIS-Aqua high resolution data in oil
spill monitoring. Therefore, MODIS-Aqua data with
daily coverage and high resolution can be reliable
and cost-effective for such events.
Location: 215
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 54852
Title: Studies on Irrigation Distribution Equity and Crop Growth Performance in a Canal Command using Remote Sensing
Author: S. Raut . K.S.S. Sarma . D.K. Das
Editor: Prof. B. L. Deekshatulu
Year: 2010
Publisher: Indian Society of Remote Sensing, Vol 38, March 2010
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: None
Subject: Indian Society of Remote Sensing
Keywords: Irrigation distribution equity . NDVI . Soil association
Abstract: Irrigation distribution equity and crop
growth were studied in Delhi Sub-branch of Western
Yamuna Canal Command. Total irrigation was
estimated from the canal and tube well discharge
data and irrigation distribution equity was expressed
in terms of Theil?s and Christiansen?s Coefficients
for nearly 140 wheat fields randomly chosen over
the command. Crop growth performance for these
plots was assessed from the Normalized Difference
Vegetation Index (NDVI) obtained from the IRS,
LISS II data. Four soil associations viz., Nabha-
Ghoga, Daryapur-Hissar, Holambi-Nabha and
Khampur-Hissar mainly represented the study area.
In general, increase in amount of irrigation enhanced
the growth performance of the wheat crop. Increase
in distribution equity within soil associations
slightly improved the growth performance of the
crop. Over and above, the irrigation equity, quality
and quantity constraints to irrigation, the other soil
parameters like CEC, applied P also contributed to
differences in wheat growth as observed from the
stepwise multiple regression analysis. Irrigation
performance indices were estimated from water
distribution between soil associations and from
water requirement of crop, indicated performance
slightly below the critical level.
Location: 215
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 54851
Title: Terrain Characterization using SRTM Data
Author: P. P. Patel . A. Sarkar
Editor: Prof. B. L. Deekshatulu
Year: 2010
Publisher: Indian Society of Remote Sensing, Vol 38, March 2010
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: None
Subject: Indian Society of Remote Sensing
Keywords: SARTM . Terrain
Abstract: Earth?s surface possesses relief because the
geomorphic processes operate at different rates, and
geologic structure plays a dominant role in the
evolution of landforms (Thornbury, 1954). The spatial
pattern of relief yields the topographic mosaic of a
terrain and is normally extracted from the topographical
maps which are available at various scales. As
cartographic abstractions are scale dependent,
topographical maps are rarely good inputs for terrain
analysis. Currently, the shuttle radar topography
mission (SRTM) provides one of the most complete,
highest resolution digital elevation model (DEM) of
the Earth. It is an ideal data-set for precise terrain
analysis and topographic characterization in terms of
the nature of altimetric distribution, relief aspects,
patterns of lineaments and surface slope, topographic
profiles and their visualisation, correlation between
geology and topography, hypsometric attributes and
finally, the hierarchy of terrain sub-units. The present
paper extracts the above geomorphic features and
terrain character of part of the Chotonagpur plateau
and the Dulung River basin therein using SRTM data.
Location: 215
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Literature cited 2: None
ID: 54850
Title: Synergistic use of Multi-temporal Radarsat SAR and AWiFS data for Rabi rice identification.
Author: D. Haldar . C. Patnaik
Editor: Prof. B. L. Deekshatulu
Year: 2010
Publisher: Indian Society of Remote Sensing, Vol 38, March 2010
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: None
Subject: Indian Society of Remote Sensing
Keywords: Rabi rice . multi-temporal Radarsat SAR . MIR band . Indices
Abstract: A national level project on kharif rice
identification and acreage estimation is being carried
out successfully for several states in the country. A
similar methodology based on the temporal profile
for identification and delineation of various land cover
classes has been followed for the Rabi rice acreage
estimation. To define rabi rice, rabi season in India
starts from November - February to March ? June.
Though the main growing season is predominantly
winter but the uncertainty of getting cloud free data
during the season has resulted in the use of microwave
data. A feasibility study was taken up for early
forecasting of the rabi rice area using microwave data.
Hierarchical decision rule classification technique was
used for the identification of the different land cover
classes. Land preparation, puddling and
transplantation were the reasons for the specific
backscatter of rice growing areas. The increase or
decrease in the SAR backscatter due to progress in
the crop phenology or due to delayed sowing
respectively forms the basis for identifying the rice
areas. In addition the potential of optical data of a
later date has been utilized in the form of various
indices from bands including MIR to distinctly
separate the late sown areas and also the puddled
areas from other areas. This study emphasizes the
synergistic use of SAR and optical data for
delineating the rabi rice areas which is of immense
use in giving an early forecast.
Location: 215
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Literature cited 2: None
ID: 54849
Title: Some Issues in Contextual Fuzzy c-Means Classification of Remotely Sensed Data for Land Cover Mapping
Author: A. Dutta . A. Kumar . S. Sarkar
Editor: Prof. B. L. Deekshatulu
Year: 2010
Publisher: Indian Society of Remote Sensing, Vol 38, March 2010
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: None
Subject: Indian Society of Remote Sensing
Keywords: Contextual information . Markov Random Field . Metropolis Algorithm . Gibbs Samples.
Abstract: Earlier for the hard classification techniques
contextual information was used to improve
classification accuracy. While modelling the spatial
contextual information for hard classifiers using
Markov Random Field it has been found that
Metropolis algorithm is easier to program and it
performs better in comparison to the Gibbs sampler.
In the present study it has been found that incase of
soft contextual classification Metropolis algorithm
fails to sample from a random field efficiently and from
the analysis it was found that Metropolis algorithm is
not suitable for soft contextual classification due to
the high dimensionality of the soft outputs.
Location: 215
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 54848
Title: Survey-gap analysis for Botanical Research using Integrated approach through Taxonomical Data and Geoinformatics
Author: C.S. Reddy
Editor: Prof. B. L. Deekshatulu
Year: 2010
Publisher: Indian Society of Remote Sensing, Vol 38, No 3, September 2010
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: None
Subject: Indian Society of Remote Sensing
Keywords: Survey-gap ? Herbarium ? Geoinformatics ? Adilabad ? India
Abstract: India is one of the 12 mega biodiversity
countries in the world. There are still many areas
where inadequate information on plant wealth is
available. Gap area prioritization is of utmost concern
to understand the species richness of different parts
of India. In this context survey-gap analysis was
carried out to assess exploration status and to
prioritise areas using integrated approach through
taxonomical data and geoinformatics. In order to
highlight the gaps in botanical exploration in the
country, the present case study was conducted in
Adilabad district of Andhra Pradesh. A grid size of
5 ' ?5 ' has been prepared to analyse the exploration
status. The results indicated that most parts of study
area have been under-explored and unexplored. Of
the 200 grids, only one grid has been well explored
with species collections of above 100. The study
brought to light that moist deciduous forests were
not covered during floristic studies. Comparative
analysis with disturbance index and biological
richness maps evidently points out that explorations
were undertaken only in high disturbed zones and
areas of low to medium biological richness. This
geospatial analysis clearly points the need for more
attention to the exploration of tropical forests in
India. There is a need of systematic botanical studies
to prioritise the conservation strategies of varied
natural ecosystems. It is recommended for national
level survey-gap analysis as an important step to
determine the floristic wealth, species
representativeness and distribution.
Location: 215
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None