11. An Inventory for Land Use Land Cover and Landform Identification from Satellite Standard FCC: A Study in the Active Ganga Delta

Using the Namkhana region of West Bengal (21° 30′–21° 50′N, 88° 10′–88° 22′E; 670 km²) as a proxy for the Indian Sundarban, a standard False Colour Composite (FCC) generated from Resourcesat-2 LISS-3 data of 1st January 2014 is used for Ground Truth Verification (GTV) and preparing an inventory of land use, land cover and landform of the region. Photo and spectral characteristics of the land use and land cover types are recorded for eight classes: cropland, fallow, mangroves, orchards, clear water, turbid water, muds and sands. Similarly, photo characteristics of thirteen landform types were also brought out. These include: alluvial plain, channel bar, coastal dune, coastal bar, mangrove swamp, meander, mudflat, palaeochannel, sandy beach, sea, shore zone, swamp and tidal channel. The study should benefit similar works carried out in other areas of Sundarban.