33. Remote Sensing and Geographical Information as an Aid for Land Use Planning and Implications to Natural Resources Assessment: Case Study, South India

Anthropogenic changes in land use are being increasingly recognized as critical factors influencing global change. Land use is often shaped by human and socio-economic and political influences on the land. Remote sensing (RS) integrated with geographical information system (GIS) provides an effective tool for analysis of land use and land cover changes at a regional level. The geospatial technology of RS and GIS holds the potential for timely and cost-effective assessment of natural resources. These techniques have been used extensively in the tropics for generating valuable information on forest cover, vegetation type and land use changes. In the present study, RS and GIS have been used to assess land cover patterns in Pulivendula-Sanivaripalli area of south India. With this in view, an assessment has been made on some of the natural resources and environmental potential of Pulivendula-Sanivaripalli area of south India. To achieve these, three thematic maps (land use and land cover, drainage and slope) were prepared through image interpretation and limited checks. The land use-land cover pattern falls under the broad categories of agricultural land, forest land and wasteland. The agricultural land is further subdivided into dry and wet agricultural land. Forest land has been classified based on the United States Geological Survey (USGS) land use and land cover classification system, using remote sensing data as dry and wet forest land. Further, the forest land has been classified into reserve forest and wasteland vegetation. Social forestry programme includes plantations and development of pasture land; control of soil erosion by afforestation has been suggested. In the study area, most of the land (60%) is unused, and this can be used for industries and urban planning.