Wetland spatial dynamics and mitigation study: an integrated remote sensing and GIS approach

Wetland is a valuable and most important natural resource in the environment. The present research aimed to study the wetland spatial dynamics by analysing the multidated satellite images and to develop a wetland mitigation plan through integrated geoinformatics techniques. The four stages of methodology include data acquisition, thematic database generation, wetland spatial dynamic study and mitigation plan. The satellite data, toposheets and other relevant data were collected from different sources and analysed in the GIS platform to study the spatial dynamics of wetland. The various thematic databases were prepared to better understand the physical environmental features of the study area. The analytical result shows that the total wetland area has reduced from 140.01 to 31.64 km(2) during 1977-2011. Many wetland areas are reduced due to increasing rate of siltation and eutrophication process. Mankind has also stressed wetlands by dumping garbage and industrial waste over the wetland. It further contaminates groundwater and affects human health. Also, the impact of natural factors leads to the depletion of groundwater level, which makes further vulnerable condition to the wetland ecosystems. The thematic databases were integrated with field data to develop wetland mitigation plan for the conservation of existing wetland and the restoration of lost wetland.