Understanding Changes in Desertification Status of Jaisalmer District Rajasthan An Investigation Based on Multi Sensor Satellite Data and GIS Techniques

Abstract

Desertification has often been addressed as land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry subhumid newlineregions arising from various factors, including climatic variation and human newlineactivities. It is a global issue in recent times since about 1.2 billion people are at risk from newlinedesertification. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is newlineaiming currently to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality in order to restore the productivity newlineof degraded lands and improve the socio economic conditions of the people in these lands. newlineOne of the key requirements at this juncture is inventory and monitoring desertification and newlineland degradation at region level using satellite data in Geographical Information System newline(GIS) environment for providing baseline data to be used for prioritizing areas, carrying out newlinedesertification vulnerability and risk assessment and preparing action plans for combating newlinedesertification and land degradation. newlineThus the present research intends to understand the changes in desertification status over newlinedifferent time frames at a regional scale using multi sensor satellite images. Data mining newlinetechniques has been used to extract useful information from large amounts of data at newlineregional level in regards to desertification/land degradation from different perspectives and newlineorganize it in a form for easy scientific understanding. newlineThe entire study is carried out over Jaisalmer district, situated in western part of Rajasthan newlinestate, India. Jaisalmer district covers the maximum part of world s most populously newlineinhabited desert, Thar. Belonging to desertic environment, this region is exposed to severe newlinemeteorological conditions and typical anthropogenic pressures. Thus this area is very fragile newlineand prone to land degradation. Wind erosion is the most dominant agent of land degradation newlinein this region and constantly driving changes. Migration of fresh dunes is the major newlineproblem, in this area because they flow in different directions due to strong influence o