Eco-biophysical indicators to ascertain the sustainability aspect of world's primitive hills range using time-series MODIS data products

In India's semi-arid climatic zone, the Aravalli hills range is an ecotone between the Thar Desert and the Gangetic plain, covering about 10% of the forest cover of Western India. Notably, the upper range of the hills has a high population density; this range has encountered substantial areal transformation in the last five decades. However, we believe that the enhancement of green cover within this range has occurred primarily due to discontinuous degradation within the entire range, without geographical alteration. We use MODIS products to compare and contrast spatiotemporal ecological dynamics between different sub-ranges (upper, middle, and lower) of Aravalli between 2000 and 2019. Specifically, we adopt seven eco-biophysical parameters that include EVI, LAI, PTC, PNTV, ET, NPP, and LST. Pixel-based time-series trend evaluation for MODIS imagery composite within the GEE platform, using the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression method identified that forest enhancement is experienced in some parts of different ranges. We also observed some human-induced factors and natural stressors that could possibly be responsible for forest health dynamics. Thus, we suggest sustainable planning and policy changes for people who are under anthropocentric stress; this we believe, would help management practices.

Automated summary

This study uses MODIS products to analyze the spatiotemporal ecological dynamics of the Aravalli hills in India, with findings of forest enhancement in certain areas. Human-induced factors and natural stressors were observed to potentially influence forest health, suggesting the need for sustainable planning and policy changes to improve management practices.