Assessing the trends and drivers of land use land cover change in district Abbottabad lower Himalayan Region Pakistan

Land Use Land Cover (LULC) dynamics and the associated drivers are vehemently debated issues among scientific community due to its significant impact on global scale. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the major trends and drivers influencing LULC change in District Abbottabad, Pakistan. Mixed method approach comprising of remote sensing, Geographic Information System (GIS) and household survey were employed to collect data from 130 households. Descriptive data was analyzed through index-based ranking. Further logistic regression was employed to examine the impact of perceived drivers of LULC change. Ranking of major perceived and proximate drivers identified were unplanned urbanization, natural conditions, agricultural decline and increase infrastructure. While population growth, lack of financial resources, poor marketing and weak governance were identified as underlying drivers of LULC change. Similarly, findings of GIS data revealed massive increase in built-up (3.12%) areas and urbanization at the expense of agricultural and bare land (-15.7%) between 1987 and 2019.

Automated summary

This study investigates the major trends and drivers of land use and land cover (LULC) change in District Abbottabad, Pakistan. The perceived and proximate drivers identified include unplanned urbanization, natural conditions, agricultural decline, and increase in infrastructure. Underlying drivers of LULC change include population growth, lack of financial resources, poor marketing, and weak governance. GIS data analysis reveals a significant increase in built-up areas and urbanization, while agricultural and bare land have decreased between 1987 and 2019.