Comparative studies of the distribution characteristics of rocky desertification and land use/land cover classes in typical areas of Guizhou province, China

The Huajiang and Hongfenghu demonstration areas represent typical karst landforms and rocky desertification landscapes in Guizhou, China. These were selected for a comparison of rocky desertification and land use cover. Based mainly on 5 m resolution Spot 5, remote sensing images, topographic maps (1:10,000) and land use maps, the intensity and extent of rocky desertification, and slope characteristics of the two areas were interpreted. Spatial overlay analysis was used to compare the land use/land cover (LULC) and rocky desertification within each. The results were compared using the concepts of rocky desertification occurrence (RDO) among LULC classes and the structure value of desertification land (SVDL). The results demonstrated that (1) the landforms and extent of rocky desertification in the two areas are significantly different and the proportion of very steep slopes is one of the reasons leading to large areas of rocky desertification; (2) the RDO and SVDL show significant differences between the two areas; also rocky desertification intensity in various LULC classes cannot be measured in terms of RDO. High RDO may occur in low-intensity desertification land, and vice versa; (3) the structural characteristics of rocky desertification among various LULC are consistent among the woodland, “bare land” and “other grassland” land use classes in the two areas, but sequence slight > moderate > intense is not consistent between the areas. For the rocky desertification control, the present authors consider that the spatial distribution differences of rocky desertification and LULC among areas with different landform types area combined with the intensity of rocky desertification should be used in designing appropriate measures for control of desertification and rehabilitation of land.     

Land use land cover dynamics as a function of changing demography and hydrology

This paper describes the spatiotemporal changes pertaining to land use land cover (LULC) and the driving forces behind these changes in Doodhganga watershed of Jhelum Basin. An integrated approach utilizing remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) was used to extract information pertaining to LULC change. Multi-date LULC maps were generated by analyzing remotely sensed images of three dates which include LandSat TM 1992, LandSat ETM+ 2001 and IRS LISS-III 2005. The LULC information was extracted by adopting on-screen image interpretation technique in a GIS environment at 1:25,000 scale. Based on the analysis, changes were observed in the spatial extent of different LULC types over a period of 13 years. Significant changes were observed in the spatial extent of forest, horticulture, built-up and agriculture. Forest cover in the watershed has decreased by 1.47 %, Agricultural by 0.93 % while as built-up area has increased by 0.92 %. The net decrease in forest cover and agriculture land indicate the anthropogenic interference into surrounding natural ecosystems. From the study it was found that the major driving forces for these changes were population growth and changes in the stream discharge. The changes in the stream discharge were found responsible for the conversion of agricultural land into horticulture, as horticulture has increased by 1.14 % in spatial extent. It has been found that increasing human population together with decreasing stream discharge account for LULC changes in the watershed. Therefore, the existing policy framework needs to focus upon mitigating the impacts of forces responsible for LULC change so as to ensure sustainable development of land resources.     

Co-kriging for modeling shallow groundwater level changes in consideration of land use/land cover pattern

This study aimed at clarifying the relationship between the dynamics of land use/land cover (LULC) changes and decline in the groundwater levels, and specifying an LULC category strongly affecting such decline in a Quaternary sedimentary basin. Groundwater level data recorded at 26 observation wells for a 14-year period in the Kumamoto Plain, central Kyushu, southwest Japan, were used for the analysis. The general trends of LULC were detected by a satellite image classification technique and surface spline method, which highlighted the decreases in groundwater-recharge materials. As the next step, those trends of groundwater levels that were closely correlated with rainfall were removed from the level data set, and the resultant residual component levels were applied to co-kriging analysis with LULC categories. Co-kriging provided a detailed map of groundwater level variability. Furthermore, we propose a method, prediction of residual of groundwater level (PWL), to infer future residual groundwater levels from the supposed LULC pattern by co-kriging-based modeling. PWL was demonstrated to be effective because it clearly represented the decrease and increase in negative residual level areas, depending on the extent of rice fields in the past and in predicted future distribution scenarios.     

The impact of land use and land cover changes on soil erosion in western Iran

Natural Hazards - Analysis of long-term land use and land cover (LULC) changes requires up-to-date remotely sensed data to assess their effects on erosion. This is a particularly important...     

Impact of forecasted land use changes on flood risk in the Polish Carpathians

Flooding is a major environmental hazard in Poland with risks that are likely to increase in the future. Land use and land cover (LULC) have a strong influencing on flood risk. In the Polish Carpathians, the two main projected land use change processes are forest expansion and urbanization. These processes have a contradictory impact on flood risk, which makes the future impact of LULC changes on flooding in the Carpathians hard to estimate. In this paper, we investigate the impact of the projected LULC changes on future flood risk in the Polish Carpathians for the test area of Ropa river basin. We used three models of spatially explicit future LULC scenarios for the year 2060. We conduct hydrological simulations for the current state and for the three projected land use scenarios (trend extrapolation, ‘liberalization’ and ‘self-sufficiency’). In addition, we calculated the amount of flood-related monetary losses, based on the current flood plain area and both actual and projected land use maps under each of the three scenarios. The results show that in the Ropa river, depending on scenario, either peak discharge decreases due to the forest expansion or the peak discharge remains constant—the impact of LULC changes on the hydrology of such mountainous basins is relatively low. However, the peak discharges are very diverse across sub-catchments within the modeling area. Despite the overall decrease of peak discharge, there are areas of flow increase and there is a substantial projected increase in flood-related monetary losses within the already flood-prone areas, related to the projected degree of urbanization.     

Dynamics of land surface temperature (LST) in response to land use and land cover (LULC) changes in the Weigan and Kuqa river oasis,Xinjiang, China

Land use and land cover (LULC) changes caused by human activities have strong influences on regional environment. Land surface temperate plays an important role in studying the impact of LULC changes on regional environment. In this paper, remotely sensed thermal infrared data were used to assess land surface temperature (LST) in the Weigan and Kuqa river oasis, Xingjiang, one of the important agricultural areas in the northwestern China. The present study deals with the extraction of LST and the relationship between LULC changes using Landsat 5 TM acquired on September 25, 1989, and September 6, 2011. The results indicate that the surface temperature of water body, bare land, and desert changed significantly between 1989 and 2011. In general, the LST was lower in 1989 than in 2011. There were no lower, higher, and highest temperature zones in 1989. However, the minimum temperature was 10.7 °C in 1989 and 15.8 °C in 2011. The maximum temperature was 29.3 °C in 1989 and 41.8 °C in 2011. Regarding the LULC types, the desert features in the Gobi Desert warmed more quickly than the oasis. So, the temperature of the oasis was lower than the surrounded areas, resulting in a so-called “cold island” phenomenon. Oasis cold island effect index (OCIEI) shows that stability of oasis had rising trend from 1989 to 2011. In addition, the impact of LULC changes on LST was analyzed and the driving forces were also analyzed from 1977 to 2011. This study is significant for further understanding of the energy exchange status of soil-plant-atmospheric system and the regional heat distribution in arid and semi-arid areas of the northwest China.     

Assessment of land use land cover change impact on hydrological regime of a basin

The sustainability of water resources mainly depends on planning and management of land use; a small change in it may affect water yield largely, as both are linked through relevant hydrological processes, explicitly. However, human activities, especially a significant increase in population, in-migration and accelerated socio-economic activities, are constantly modifying the land use and land cover (LULC) pattern. The impact of such changes in LULC on the hydrological regime of a basin is of widespread concern and a great challenge to the water resource engineers. While studying these impacts, the issue that prevails is the selection of a hydrological model that may be able to accommodate spatial and temporal dynamics of the basin with higher accuracy. Therefore, in the present study, the capabilities of variable infiltration capacity hydrological model to hydrologically simulate the basin under varying LULC scenarios have been investigated. For the present analysis, the Pennar River Basin, Andhra Pradesh, which falls under a water scarce region in India, has been chosen. The water balance components such as runoff potential, evapotranspiration (ET) and baseflow of Pennar Basin have been simulated under different LULC scenarios to study the impact of change on hydrological regime of a basin. Majorly, increase in built-up (13.94% approx.) and decrease in deciduous forest cover (2.44%) are the significant changes observed in the basin during the last three decades. It was found that the impact of LULC change on hydrology is balancing out at basin scale (considering the entire basin, while routing the runoff at the basin outlet). Therefore, an analysis on spatial variation in each of the water balance components considered in the study was done at grid scale. It was observed that the impact of LULC is considerable spatially at grid level, and the maximum increase of 265 mm (1985–2005) and the decrease of 48 mm (1985–1995) in runoff generation at grid were estimated. On the contrary, ET component showed the maximum increase of 400 and decrease of 570 mm under different LULC change scenario. Similarly, in the base flow parameter, an increase of 70 mm and the decrease of 100 mm were observed. It was noticed that the upper basin is showing an increasing trend in almost all hydrological components as compared to the lower basin. Based on this basin scale study, it was concluded that change in the land cover alters the hydrology; however, it needs to be studied at finer spatial scale rather than the entire basin as a whole. The information like the spatial variation in hydrological components may be very useful for local authority and decision-makers to plan mitigation strategies accordingly.     

The relationship between land surface temperature and land use/land cover in Guangzhou,China

The integration of remote sensing, geographic information system, landscape ecology and statistical analysis methods was applied to study the urban thermal environment in Guangzhou. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Build-up Index (NDBI), Normalized Difference Barren Index (NDBaI) and Modified Normalized Difference Water Index (MNDWI) were used to analyze the relationships between land surface temperature (LST) and land use/land cover (LULC) qualitatively. The result revealed that, most urban built-up lands were located in the middle part, and high LST areas mostly and were in the middle and southern parts. Therefore, the urbanization and thermal environment in the middle and southern parts need to be determined. Land surface temperature increased with the density of urban built-up and barren land, but decreased with vegetation cover. The relationship between MNDWI and LST was found to be negative, which implied that pure water would decrease the surface temperature and the polluted water would increase the surface temperature. A multiple regression between LST and each indices as well as the elevation was created to elevate the urban thermal environment, which showed that NDVI, NDBI, NDBaI, MNDWI were effective indicators for quantifying LULC impacts on LST.     

Monitoring and prediction of land use/land cover changes using CA-Markov model: a case study of Ravansar County in Iran

Human‐induced land use/land cover (LULC) changes are among the most important processes that shape the dynamics of the earth’s surface. This phenomenon, which is occurring at an astonishing rate, and its consequential environmental impacts have become an important area of research for scientists.Therefore, a wide range of methods and models have been developed to detect and predict these alterations, among which cellular automata (CA) models such as the CA‐Markov model, due to their affinity to geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing (RS), are appropriate for detailed resolution modelling and simulating dynamic spatial processes. In Iran, the district of Ravansar has undergone severe LULC changes recently, thus to take the necessary precautions, decision‐makers need to predict and determine the extent of these changes. In this study, using spatial analysis methods the LULC changes in Ravansar were investigated from 1992 to 2015. Subsequently, the CA‐Markov model was applied to simulate the spatial pattern changes of LULC until 2030. Our results indicated that from 1992 to 2015, this region has witnessed a noticeable increase in the areas of the built‐up and agricultural lands (both aquatic and non‐aquatic), resulting in the decrease of the gardens, range, and bare lands. The simulated LULC map showed that this trend will continue due to more urbanization and development of agricultural areas.     

Effects of historical and projected land use/cover change on runoff and sediment yield in the Netravati river basin,Western Ghats,India

In this study, the effects of changes in historical and projected land use land cover (LULC) on monthly streamflow and sediment yield for the Netravati river basin in the Western Ghats of India are explored using land use maps from six time periods (1972, 1979, 1991, 2000, 2012, and 2030) and the soil and water assessment tool (SWAT). The LULC for 2030 is projected using the land change modeller with the assumption of normal growth. The sensitivity analysis, model calibration, and validation indicated that the SWAT model could reasonably simulate streamflow and sediment yield in the river basin. The results showed that the spatial extent of the LULC classes of urban (1.80–9.96%), agriculture (31.38–55.75%), and water bodies (1.48–2.66%) increased, whereas that of forest (53.04–27.03%), grassland (11.17–4.41%), and bare land (1.09–0.16%) decreased from 1972 to 2030. The streamflow increased steadily (7.88%) with changes in LULC, whereas the average annual sediment yield decreased (0.028%) between 1972 and 1991 and increased later (0.029%) until 2012. However, it may increase by 0.43% from 2012 to 2030. The results indicate that LULC changes in urbanization and agricultural intensification have contributed to the increase in runoff, amounting to 428.65 and 58.67 mm, respectively, and sediment yield, amounting to 348 and 43 ton/km², respectively, in the catchment area from 1972 to 2030. The proposed methodology can be applied to other river basins for which temporal digital LULC maps are available for better water resource management plans.     

Landsat data to evaluate urban expansion and determine land use/land cover changes in Penang Island,Malaysia

Land surface temperature (LST) plays an important role in local, regional and global climate studies. LST controls the distribution of the budget for radiation heat between the atmosphere and the earth’s surface. Therefore, it is important to evaluate abrupt changes in land use/land cover (LULC). Penang Island, Malaysia has been experiencing a rapid and drastic change in urban expansion over the past two decades due to growth in industrial and residential areas. The aim of this study was to investigate and evaluate the impact of LST with respect to land use changes in Penang Island, Malaysia. Three supervised classification techniques known as maximum likelihood, minimum distance-to-mean and parallelepiped were applied to the images to extract thematic information from the acquired scene by using PCI Geomatica 10.1 image processing software. These remote sensing classification techniques help to examine land-use changes in Penang Island using multi-temporal Landsat data for the period of 1999–2007. Training sites were selected within each scene and seven land cover classes were assigned to each classifier. The relative performance of each technique was evaluated. The accuracy of each classification map was assessed using a reference data set consisting of a large number of samples collected per category. Two Landsat satellite images captured in 1999 and 2007 were chosen to classify the LULC types using the maximum likelihood classification method, determined from visible and near-infrared bands. The study revealed that the maximum likelihood classifier produced superior results and achieved a high degree of accuracy. The LST and normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) were computed based on changes in LULC. The results showed that the urban (highly built-up) area increased dramatically, and grassland area increased moderately. Inversely, barren land decreased obviously, and forest area decreased moderately. While urban (minimally built-up) area decreased slightly. These changes in LULC caused at significant difference in LST between urban and rural areas. Strong correlation values were observed between LST and NDVI for all LULC classes. The remote sensing technique used in this study was found to be efficient; it reduced the time for the analysis of the urban expansion, and it was found to be a useful tool to evaluate the impact of urbanisation with LST.     

Complexity theory, spatial simulation models, and land use dynamics in the Northern Ecuadorian Amazon

Our research questions and analytical approaches are used to examine coupled human-natural systems in the Northern Ecuadorian Amazon. They are based on complexity theory and extend from our earlier work in Cellular Automata (CA) in which land use/land cover (LULC) change patterns were spatially simulated to examine deforestation and agricultural extensification on household farms. The basic intent is to understand linkages between people and the environment by explicitly considering pattern-process relationships and the nature of feedback mechanisms among social, biophysical, and geographical factors that influence LULC dynamics within the study area. In this research, we describe how our CA modeling approach emphasizes the human dimensions of LULC change by including socio-economic and demographic characteristics at the household-level along with biophysical data that describe the resource endowments of farms, geographic accessibility of farms to roads and communities, and the evolving nature of human-environment interactions over time and space in response to exogenous and endogenous factors.A LULC change scenario is examined by comparing model outcomes generated for a base CA model and an alternative CA model to explore the effects of increases in household income on land use change patterns at the farm level, achieved as a consequence of improved geographic accessibility to roads and communities and increased off-farm employment as a household livelihood strategy. Growth or transitions rules in our CA model, as well as neighborhood associations are sensitive to socio-economic and demographic factors of households, resource endowments of farms, geographic accessibility, and the uncertainty associated with peasant farming in a frontier setting. Model outcomes indicate that increases in household income are associated with more land in pasture and more land being cultivated for crops as a result of greater access to agricultural markets. In addition, more land in secondary forest succession occurs as a consequence of greater access to roads and communities, thereby, affording a better opportunity for off-farm employment and greater levels of household income.     

Shallow landslide susceptibility assessment under future climate and land cover changes: A case study from southwest China

There is no doubt that land cover and climate changes have consequences on landslide activity, but it is still an open issue to assess and quantify their impacts. Wanzhou County in southwest China was selected as the test area to study rainfall-induced shallow landslide susceptibility under the future changes of land use and land cover (LULC) and climate. We used a high-resolution meteorological precipitation dataset and frequency distribution model to analyse the present extreme and antecedent rainfall conditions related to landslide activity. The future climate change factors were obtained from a 4-member multi-model ensemble that was derived from statistically downscaled regional climate simulations. The future LULC maps were simulated by the land change modeller (LCM) integrated into IDRISI Selva software. A total of six scenarios were defined by considering the rainfall (antecedent conditions and extreme events) and LULC changes towards two time periods (mid and late XXI century). A physically-based model was used to assess landslide susceptibility under these different scenarios. The results showed that the magnitude of both antecedent effective recharge and event rainfall in the region will evidently increase in the future. Under the scenario with a return period of 100 years, the antecedent rainfall in summer will increase by up to 63% whereas the event rainfall will increase by up to 54% for the late 21st century. The most considerable changes of LULC will be the increase of forest cover and the decrease of farming land. The magnitude of this change can reach + 22.1% (forest) and –9.2% (farmland) from 2010 until 2100, respectively. We found that the negative impact of climate change on landslide susceptibility is greater than the stabilizing effect of LULC change, leading to an over decrease in stability over the study area. This is one of the first studies across Asia to assess and quantify changes of regional landslide susceptibility under scenarios driven by LULC and climate change. Our results aim to guide land use planning and climate change mitigation considerations to reduce landslide risk.     

Land use and land cover change and implication to watershed degradation by using GIS and remote sensing in the Koga watershed,North Western Ethiopia

Information on use/land cover change is important for planners and decision makers to implement sustainable use and management of resources. This study was intended to assess the land use land cover (LULC) change in the Koga watershed. The MSS of 1973, TM images of 1986, 1995 and 2011 were used together with survey and demographic data to detect the drivers of land cover changes. The result revealed that a remarkable LULC change occurred in the study area for the past thirty eight years. The area of cultivated and settlement has increased by 7054.6 ha, while, grass and bush lands decreased by 4846.5 and 3376 ha respectively. Wetland also declined from 580.2 ha to 68.3 ha. The growing demand for cultivable land and fuel wood were the major causes to the deterioration of grass and bush lands. Hence, the appropriate land use policy should be employed to sustain available resource in the watershed.     

A combined statistical approach for evaluation of the effects of land use,agricultural and urban activities on stream water chemistry in small tile-drained catchments of south Bohemia,Czech Republic

This work evaluates the changes of nitrate-nitrogen (NO₃-N), ammonium-nitrogen (NH₄-N), total phosphorus (P) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentrations in stream waters as related to the land use/land cover (LULC) alterations within eight small (5–39 km²) tile-drained catchments in the southern part of The Czech Republic in the period 1993–2010, when massive grassing of arable land took place. The robust tools of seasonal Mann–Kendall trend test and LOcally WEighted Scatterplot Smoothing methods were employed to reveal trends of the monitored parameters with adjustment to hydrology. Using principal component analysis and multiple regressions, statistically significant factors with highest impacts on the assessed water quality parameters were identified. Besides indicators of LULC changes in the catchments and their various zones, information of built tile drainage systems were used along with factors reflecting point pollution sources such as the population number, sewerage type and proximity to a watercourse, effectiveness of wastewater treatment, and number of livestock units. The change in LULC was essential only for NO₃-N concentrations, when grassing of arable land, presence of water ponds, areas of permanent cultures and also areas of drained land explained up to 90.6 % NO₃-N variability and nitrate-nitrogen concentrations showed a significantly decreasing trend in all monitored catchments during the evaluated period. LULC changes within infiltration vulnerable zones were discovered as less important for the assessed water quality parameters compared to LULC changes in the whole catchment area. However, for NH₄-N, P and COD, the results did not enable a definite quantification of the effects of LULC changes. The influence of non-point pollution sources on these parameters was revealed as uncertain and was heavily overshadowed by point sources, in particular by wastewater management, and livestock numbers, although the proportion of arable land in tile drainage subcatchments was discovered fundamental in case of the COD. The increasing numbers of livestock, population, and changes in sewage treatment led in some catchments to significant worsening of water quality. Achieved findings may be critical for supporting water quality policy and management decisions.     

Integration of geospatial technologies with RUSLE for analysis of land use/cover change impact on soil erosion: case study in Rib watershed,north-western highland Ethiopia

In recent times, soil erosion interlocked with land use and land cover (LULC) changes has become one of the most important environmental issues in developing countries. Evaluation of this complex interaction between LULC change and soil erosion is indispensable in land use planning and conservation works. This paper analysed the impact of LULC change on soil erosion in the north-western highland Ethiopia over the period 1986–2016. Rib watershed, the area with dynamic LULC change and severe soil erosion problem, was selected as a case study site. Integrated approach that combined geospatial technologies with revised universal soil loss equation model was utilized to evaluate the spatio-temporal dynamics of soil loss over the study period. Pixel-based overlay of soil erosion intensity maps with LULC maps was carried out to understand the change in soil loss due to LULC change. Results showed that the annual soil loss in the study area varied from 0 to 236.5 t ha^?1 year^?1 (tons per hectare per year) in 1986 and 0–807 t ha^?1 year^?1 in 2016. The average annual soil loss for the entire watershed was estimated about 40 t ha^?1 year^?1 in 1986 comparing with 68 t ha^?1 year^?1 in 2016, a formidable increase. Soil erosion potential that was estimated to exceed the average soil loss tolerance level increased from 34.5% in 1986 to 66.8% in 2016. Expansion of agricultural land at the expense of grassland and shrubland was the most detrimental factor for severe soil erosion in the watershed. The most noticeable change in soil erosion intensity was observed from cropland with mean annual soil loss amount increased to 41.38 t ha^?1 year^?1 in 2016 from 26.60 in 1986. Moreover, the most successive erosion problems were detected in eastern, south-eastern and northern parts of the watershed. Therefore, the results of this study can help identify the soil erosion hot spots and conservation priority areas at local and regional levels.     

An integrated object-based image analysis and CA-Markov model approach for modeling land use/land cover trends in the Sarab plain

The present paper is an attempt to integrate a semi-automated object-based image analysis (OBIA) classification framework and a cellular automata-Markov model to study land use/land cover (LULC) changes. Land use maps for the Sarab plain in Iran for the years 2000, 2006, and 2014 were created from Landsat satellite data, by applying an OBIA classification using the normalized difference vegetation index, salinity index, moisture stress index, soil-adjusted vegetation index, and elevation and slope indicators. The classifications yielded overall accuracies of 91, 93, and 94% for 2000, 2006, and 2014, respectively. Finally, using the transition matrix, the spatial distribution of land use was simulated for 2020. The results of the study revealed that the number of orchards with irrigated agriculture and dry-farm agriculture in the Sarab plain is increasing, while the amount of bare land is decreasing. The results of this research are of great importance for regional authorities and decision makers in strategic land use planning.     

Prediction of future situation of land use/cover change and modeling sensitivity to pollution in Edku Lake,Egypt based on geospatial analyses

GeoJournal - Assessing land use/cover (LULC) change in coastal lakes is an essential process for sustainable development. Edku Lake is one of the most important lakes in the northern part of Nile...     

Assessment of Land-use and Land-cover Change and its Impact on Groundwater Quality Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques in Raipur City,Chhattisgarh, India

Monitoring of land use and land cover change (LULC) is essential for water conservation and management. In this study, an attempt has been made to understand the impact of LULC change on groundwater quality. In the present study LULC map of the study area prepared using satellite image of year 1999 and 2016 which are visually interpreted with help of ERDAS IMAGINE and ArcGIS software. In this study different image interpretation elements like tone, texture, size, pattern and association were used and verified with field check and total eight LULC classes were recognized such as settlement, road, cultivation, industry, drainage, lake, open land and vegetation. Comparison of LULC of year 1999 and year 2016 indicates that the settlement (net increases 16.2%), road (net increases 0.8%), open land (net increases 14.8%) and industry (net increases 3.1%) area has expanded. In the study area groundwater pollution is mainly associated with LULC change and as well as poor waste management practices. Obtained result has been validated with nitrate concentration and found 73.33% accuracy reflecting that, applied techniques has produced significantly reliable results.     

Assessing and monitoring the human influence on water quality in response to land transformation within Wular environs of Kashmir Valley

Wular Lake is the largest freshwater lake of India located in north western Himalayas of Kashmir Valley which has got deteriorated over the period of time due to the enough human interference within its catchment areas. The purpose of the present research study is to identify the changes in land use and land cover in the Wular catchment as well as its transformation into other classes and its impact on the overall water quality of the lake. For the present study Landsat (TM) image of 1992 and Landsat-8 (OLI) of 2015 have been used for assessing the changes in land use/land cover. Supervised classification technique was used to generate LULC maps of different categories pertaining to study area for years 1992 and 2015. Regarding water quality, water samples were collected from five different spots of the lake in four different seasons of the year—from December 2014 to September 2015. The sites from which samples were collected are Vintage Park, Ashtungo, Watlab, Makhdomyari and Ningal as site 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 respectively. Some parameters of water like temperature, transparency, depth, conductivity and pH were examined on the spot during the sample collection by their respective measuring instruments. The rest of the parameters were examined in hydrological laboratory within 24 h after collection following the standard methods of APHA (Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater, 21st edn. American Public Health Association, Washington, DC, 2005). The relationship between the LULC classes and water quality parameters has been calculated with the help of SHDI which has shown both positive and as well as negative results.