Characterization of biophysical land units using remote sensing and gis

In the present study, an attempt has been made to characterize the biophysical land units in Kanholi bara river basin of sub-humid tropical ecosystem of central India using remotely sensed data, field surveys and GIS based multi-criteria overlay analysis. The geo-spatial database on elevation, slope, landforms, soil depth, soil erosion, land use/land cover and hydrogeomorphological parameters has been generated using IRS-ID LISS-III satellite data coupled with soil survey data in GIS. The methodology followed in characterization of biophysical land units in GIS includes assigning scores for different classes of the layers and weighatges for different layers based on their characteristics and degree of influence on desired output. GIS based ‘multi criteria overlay’ analysis reveals seventeen distinct biophysical land units in the river basin. Severe (50.5-59.5) to very severe (59.5) biophysical stress units are found in plateau spurs, isolated mounds, linear ridges, dissected plateau and escarpments. These zones are associated with severe to very severe erosion, steep to very steep, extremely shallow soils, poor to very poor groundwater prospects, wastelands and scrublands. The characterization of biophysical land units helps in analysis of their potentials, problems and stress environment to plan and execute site-specific landscape management practices and maximize the productivity from each biophysical land unit. The present study demonstrates that generation of geo-spatial database based on remotely sensed data and field surveys in GIS and their analysis helps great extent in characterization of biophysical land units and analysis of their stress environment for management.     

Habitat analysis for sambar in corbett national park using remote sensing and gis

Habitat analysis for sambar in terms of food, cover, water, space and extent of edge in Corbett National Park using remote sensing and GIS has been attempted. Other physical parameters include climate, topography, fire history, disturbance regimes, weeds etc. IRS-IB LISS II data (FCC, hardcopy) on 1:50.000 scale was interpreted to generate vegetation cover and density map. Other maps showing drainage, water bodies, roads, human habitations and contours were prepared using Survey of India topographical maps. During evaluation of sambar habitat information regarding habitat parameters and their tolerance was collected from existing literature as well as during field observations. Twenty-two transects of one km. length were laid down in all the strata randomly to collect information regarding the structure and composition of the forest and also habitat use (direct and indirect evidences) by sambar. This was then integrated using condition-based equations in the GIS domain to generate suitability maps. Actual sightings on the ground to a large extent supported the results.     

Hydrological modelling of a small watershed using satellite data and gis technique

A distributed parameter model Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) has been tested on daily and monthly basis for estimating surface runoff and sediment yield from a small watershed “Chhokeranala” in eastern India using satellite data and Geographical Information System (GIS). Several maps like watershed and sub-watershed boundaries, drainage network, landuse/cover and soil texture have been generated. The SWAT model has been verified for the initial phase of monsoon season in the year 2002 using daily rainfall and air temperature. Performance of the model has been also evaluated to simulate the surface runoff and sediment yield on sub-watershed basis for two months (July-August 2002). The results show a good agreement between observed and simulated runoff and sediment yield during the study period. Capability of the model for generating rainfall has been evaluated for 10 years (1992 - 2001) period. The model simulated daily rainfall shows close agreement with the observed rainfall. The present results show that the SWAT model can be used for satisfactory simulation of daily and monthly rainfall, runoff and sediment yield.     

Delineation and parameterization of banikdih watershed using remote sensing and avswat model

Delineation of Banikdih Agricultural watershed in Eastern India was carried out and various watershed parameters were extracted using Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing. Digital Elevation Model (DEM) was developed with a contour interval of 10 m in the scale of 1:25000 using ARC/INFO modules. Sub watershed, drainage, slope, aspect, flow direction, soil series, soil texture, and soil class maps were independently generated and they were properly registered and integrated for analysis. The watershed was digitally delineated using AVSWAT model that couples hydrological model and GIS with appropriate threshold value of cell size. Subsequently, stream characteristics through the interface were generated. Indian Remote Sensing Satellite IRS-1D LISS-III data pertaining to the period of October 29, 1998 and October 23, 2000 was used to develop land use/land cover thematic map using ERDAS- 8.4 version image processing software. Eight major land use/land cover classes namely water body, lowland paddy, upland paddy, fallow land, upland crop (non-paddy crops), settlement, open mixed forest, and wasteland were segregated through digital image processing techniques using maximum likelihood algorithm. The information generated would be of immense help in hydrological modeling of watershed for prediction of runoff and sediment yield, thereby providing necessary inputs for developing suitable developmental management plans with sound scientific basis.     

Morphotectonic analysis in Anandpur Sahib area,Punjab (India) using remote sensing and gis approach

Anandpur Sahib area of Rupnagar district (Punjab) was investigated using an integrated multi-disciplinary approach of geomorphological, structural, drainage and morphotectonic analysis through satellite data and GIS. Most commonly used geomorphic indices viz., channel sinuosity, drainage basin asymmetry, basin elongation ratio, mountain front sinuosity and valley floor to valley width ratio index have been used to identify the geomorphic indicators of active tectonics in the area. Existence of fluvial anomalies viz., abrupt changes in flow direction, flow against gradient, beheaded streams and river terraces reflect the strong structural control on the fluvial features. Asymmetric nature of drainage basin, elongated nature of the sub-watersheds, straight to curvilinear mountain fronts and narrow incised valley floors further substantiate the role of active tectonics in the region.     

Vegetation and landuse analysis of aglar watershed using satellite remote sensing technique

Wetershed management requires spatial knowledge of vegetation attribute, alongwith landuse, socio-economic and physical parameters. Aglar watershed, which drains in the river Yamuna, is situated in a socio-economically backward region. Any development plan in this region will require an approach which considers natural unit of watershed and its parameterisation. The study highlights the utility of space remote sensing data in obtaining spatial information of vegetation and existing landuse through visual interpretation of 1:50,000 scale Landsat TM false colour composite. Aglar watershed has been identified as forested having distinct vegetation distribution and landuse practice in southern and northern aspects of the watershed. Southern aspects are more inhabited and subjected to terrace cultivation and acute shortage of vegetation resources for fuelwood and fodder. The northern aspect is thickly vegetated with low-population density.     

Non-point source pollution in Indian agriculture: Estimation of nitrogen losses from rice crop using remote sensing and GIS

The paper presents a detailed understanding of nitrogenous fertilizer use in Indian agriculture and estimation of seasonal nitrogen loosses from rice crop in Indo-Gangetic plain region, the ‘food bowl’ of the Indian sub-continent. An integrated methodology was developed for quantification of different forms of nitrogen losses from rice crop using remote sensing derived inputs, field data of fertilizer application, collateral data of soil and rainfall and nitrogen loss coefficients derived from published nitrogen dynamics studies. The spatial patterns of nitrogen losses in autumn or ‘kharif’ and spring or ‘rabi’ season rice at 1 × 1 km grid were generated using image processing and GIS. The nitrogen losses through leaching in form of urea-N, ammonium-N (NH₄-N) and nitrate-N (NO₃-N) are dominant over ammonia volatilization loss. The study results indicate that nitrogen loss through leaching in kharif and rabi rice is of the order of 34.9% and 39.8% of the applied nitrogenous fertilizer in the Indo-Gangetic plain region. This study provides a significant insight to the role of nitrogenous fertilizer as a major non-point source pollutant from agriculture.     

利用小波变换的高分辨率多光谱遥感图像多尺度分水岭分割

为了减少仅用分水岭变换而导致的过分割问题,本文提出利用小波变换的多尺度处理方式用于融合后多光谱QuickBird图像的分割。整个分割过程包括多尺度图像表示、图像分割、区域合并和结果映射等过程。首先,依据原始图像的大小确定分解尺度并用小波变换产生各波段的低尺度图像。采用相位一致模型提取各近似系数的梯度,并逐尺度地融合各梯度图。分析不同尺度下的不同地物的局部梯度方差,以选择最佳的小波分解尺度。然后,通过移动阈值与扩展最小变换,利用多层次标记提取方法标记均质区域。进而,在梯度重建的基础上利用标记分水岭变换得到分割图像。其次,采取空间相邻关系、面积、光谱与纹理等多约束策略,以搜索最小合并代价的方式合并最初分割区域中的邻接区域对。最后,修改细节子图并进行小波逆变换将最初分割结果投影到更高尺度图像,同时处理边界上的像元以保持区域边界直至原始图像。实验结果表明本文方法不仅能够用于高分辨率多光谱遥感图像的分割,而且缓解了过分割问题且取得了较准确的分割效果。     

Integrated approach of using remote sensing and GIS to study watershed prioritization and productivity

Soil data obtained from soil resource inventory, land and climate were derived from the remote sensing satellite data (Landsat TM, bands 1 to 7) and were integrated in GIS environment to obtain the soil erosion loss using USLE model for the watershed area. The priorities of different sub-watershed areas for soil conservation measures were identified. Land productivity index was also used as a measure for land evaluation. Different soil and land attribute maps were generated in GIS, and R,K,LS,C and P factor maps were derived. By integrating these soil erosion map was generated. The mapping units, found not suitable for agriculture production, were delineated and mapped as non-arable land. The area suitable for agricultural production was carved out for imparting the productivity analysis; the land suitable for raising agricultural crops was delineated into different mapping units as productivity ratings good, fair, moderate and poor. The analysis performed using remote sensing and GIS helped to generate the attribute maps with more accuracy and the ability of integrating these in GIS environment provided the ease to get the required kind of analysis. Conventional methods of land evaluation procedures in terms of either soil erosion or productivity are found not comparable with the out put generated by using remote sensing and GIS as the limitations in generating the attribute maps and their integration. The results obtained in this case study show the use of different kinds of data derived from different sources in land evaluation appraisals.     

Morphometric analysis of sub-watersheds in the pavagada area of Tumkur district,South India using remote sensing and gis techniques

The study area covers 570 km² comprising of 9 sub-watersheds (Dalavayihalli, Maddalenahalli, Talamaradahalli, Puluvalli tank, Nagalamadike, Gowdatimmanahalli, Naliganahalli, Devadabetta and Byadanur) range from 49 to 75 km² forming part of Pennar river basin around Pavagada. The drainage network of 9 sub-watersheds was delineated using remote sensing data - Geocoded FCC of bands - 2 3 4 of IRS 1 C and 1 D (LISS III+PAN merged) on 1:50,000 scale and SOI topomaps were used as reference. The morphometric analysis of 9 sub-watersheds has been carried out using GIS softwares - Arclnfo and Are View. The drainage network shows that the terrain exhibits dendritic to sub-dendritic drainage pattern. Stream orders ranges from fourth to fifth order. Drainage density varies between 1.55 and 2.16 km/ km² and has very coarse to coarse drainage texture. The relief ratio range from 0.006 to 0.021. The mean bifurcation ratio varies from 3.21 to 4.88 and falls under normal basin category. The elongation ratio shows that Devedabetta sub-watershed possesses circular shape while remaining sub-watersheds mark elongated pattern. Hence from the study it can be concluded that remote sensing techniques proved to be a competent tool in morphometric analysis.     

Application of remote sensing and GIS in watershed characterization and management

Short Note

Application of remote sensing and GIS in watershed characterization and management     

Site suitability evaluation for locating sewage treatment plants using remote sensing and gis — a case study of phillaur and phagwara townships in punjab

Level-II urban land use information available in this Town and Country Planning maps, Survey of India toposteets for Phillaur and Phagwara towns and the land use information generated through visual interpretation of satellite data was digitized, integrated and analysed using PAMAP GIS. The land use map of the two towns suggest that the wastelands located near the point of present disposal can be utilised for siting sewage treatment plants in both the towns. The STP sites suggested were away from the thickly habttared area. It was observed that some of the areas earmarked for locating STP’s, were partially brought under habitation before the execution of the preject. Hence, it is necessary that planning and execution of such projects should be done on a real time basis so that the sites identified for locating STP’s are not brought under other land uses.     

Morphometric analysis and prioritization of miniwatersheds in Mohr watershed,Gujarat using remote sensing and GIS techniques

In this study, morphometric analysis and prioritization of the eight miniwatersheds of Mohr watershed, located between Bayad taluka of Sabarkantha district and Kapadwanj taluka of Kheda district in Gujarat State, India is carried out using Remote Sensing and GIS techniques. The morphometric parameters considered for analysis are stream length, bifurcation ratio, drainage density, stream frequency, texture ratio, form factor, circularity ratio, elongation ratio and compactness ratio. The Mohr watershed has a dendritic drainage pattern. The highest bifurcation ratio among all the miniwatersheds is 9.5 which indicates a strong structural control on the drainage. The maximum value of circularity ratio is 0.1197 for the miniwatershed 5F2B5b3. The miniwatershed 5F2B5a2 has the maximum elongation ratio (0.66). The form factor values are in range of 0.29 to 0.34 which indicates that the Mohr watershed has moderately high peak flow for shorter duration. The compound parameter values are calculated and prioritization rating of eight miniwatersheds in Mohr watershed is carried out. The miniwatershed with the lowest compound parameter value is given the highest priority. The miniwatershed 5F2B5b2 has a minimum compound parameter value of 3.12 is likely to be subjected to maximum soil erosion hence it should be provided with immediate soil conservation measures.     

Soil resource appraisal towards land use planning using satellite remote sensing and gis a case study in patloinala micro-watershed, district puruliya, west bengal

Visual interpretation of IRS ID LISS-III fused with PAN data (1:12,500 scale) ofPatloinala micro-watershed of Puruliya district, West Bengal was carried out for delineating the physiographic units based on the variations in image characteristics. The major physiographic units identified were upland(Tanr), medium land(Baid), and low land(Bahal andKanali). The satellite remote sensing data coupled with ground truth were translated in terms of soils using composite interpretation map as base. The abstraction level attained was phases of soil series based on Soil Taxonomy. On the basis of physiographic variation and soil or soil site characteristics such as texture, depth, slope, erosion etc. the problem areas were identified and land use plan has been suggested for the overall development of the micro-watershed.     

A Rulebase physiographic characterization of a drought prone watershed applying remote sensing and GIS

Efficient micro-watershed management needs characterization of it to optimize natural resources, which is especially important in drought prone areas. In the present study micro-watersheds of Gandheshwari tributary in Chotta-Nagpur Plateau are characterized based on physiographic properties towards agricultural potentiality. An algorithm interpolating elevation values using an empirical formula is proposed to obtain an improved Digital Elevation Model (DEM). IRS LISS-Ill Satellite data is used to acquire important parameters like landuse/ landcover and drainage. Image processing techniques like edge enhancement, edge detection, and principal components analysis are used for improving lineament detection. For characterization of watershed landform analysis using physiographic parameters is done in Geographic Information System (GIS). Detailed drainage network obtained from satellite image, the improved DEM and other GIS layers of land based information are used to delineate micro-watersheds. The Agricultural 1-lydrologic Response Units (AHRU) targeting agricultural use of the land are derived by overlaying the delineated parameters and are grouped into thirty response units based on their agricultural potential. Micro-watersheds are characterized based on the dominant Al-IRU giving spatial information about agricultural suitability, emphasizing availability and scarcity of water so that respective water conservation practices can be improved to use the potential AHRU.     

Change of river channel and bank erosion of the burhi dihing river (assam), assessed using remote sensing data and gis

The Burhi Dining river flows in a meandering course for about 220 km through alluvial plains of Assam including a short rocky and hilly tract in between. Sequential changes in the position of banklines of the river due to consistent bank erosion have been studied from Survey of India topographic maps of 1934 and 1972, and digital satellite data of 2001 and 2004 using GIS. Two broad kinds of changes have been observed, e.g. alteration of direction of flow due to neck cut-off and progressive gradual change of the meander bends that accounts for translational, lateral, rotational, extensional and other types of movement of the meander bends. Study of bankline shift due to the bank erosion has been carried out for the periods 1934–1972, 1972–2001, 2001–2004 and 1934–2004 at 13 segments spaced at 5′ longitude interval (average 15 km) as the river course trends nearly east to west. The amounts of the bank area lost due to erosion and gained due to sediment deposition are estimated separately. The total area eroded in both banks during 1934–1972 was more (26.796 km²) as compared to sediment deposition (19.273 km²), whereas total sediment deposition was more (34.61 km²) during 1972-2001 as compared to erosion (23.152 km²). Erosion was again more in 2001–2004 (7.568 km²) as compared to sediment deposition (2.493 km²). During the entire period (1934–2004) of study the overall erosion on the both banks was 31.169 km² and overall sediment deposition was 30.101 km². The highest annual rates of bank erosion as well as bank building of the river are 21055.47 m²/km in 2001–2004 and 9665.81 m²/km in 1972-2001, respectively. Similarly the highest average annual rates of erosion as well as sediment deposition in both banks are observed during 2001–2004 and 1972–2001, respectively. The hard rocks of the hilly tract situated in between result in development of entrenched meandering and this tract has suffered minimum bank erosion.     

遥感信源色彩信号的提取与复现

提出遥感信源色彩信号的提取及复现理论,给出了可操作的技术路线,设计了提取与复现程序,用MODIS(中等分辨率航天成像光谱仪)数据提取并复现了色彩信号,生成了色彩信号图像。未进行大气校正的色彩信号图像等效于太空对地摄影,从图像可看出,地物被笼罩在瑞利散射形成的蓝色“云雾”下。经瑞利散射纠正后的色彩信号图像接近于地面真彩色摄影,非专业人员能根据地物颜色及阴影判读出常见地物。理论可用于遥感信源地面真彩色图像重建、色彩信号不完整信源彩色仿真、航天对地真彩色摄影、信源质量评价。