Land Use/ Land Cover Changes of Kannur District, Kerala From 1969 to 2024: A Geospatial Investigation

Variations in Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) impact significant policy decisions and contribute to global developments. Rapid population increase, urbanization, and limited arable land are important drivers influencing global LULC change in the world now. The change in land use does not necessarily indicate the deterioration of the land. Land-use patterns fluctuate due to many causes, compromising biodiversity, energy budgets, water, and greenhouse gas emissions, and leading to significant climate shifts in the biosphere. The indicators of these changes are fast and can be identified as the total amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, such as nitrous oxide (NO), methane, and carbon dioxide transformation, degradation of natural vegetation regions, and biodiversity loss. Geospatial techniques can be employed to recognize alterations in LULC mapping. In this study, the LULC pattern as well as its shifts in Kannur district, Kerala, were assessed using optical remote sensing, as well as their spatiotemporal changes from 1969 to 2024. The investigation indicated that the study area is experiencing significant urbanization due to the large-scale change of natural ecosystems, notably mixed crops and barren land. It was discovered that the attempt to categorize LULC using satellite photos was successful. The results of the study prove that the severe deleterious effects were mainly seen on the vegetation cover as a result of modifications in land use following a growth in development, which alters the pattern of land cover.