Ecologically sensitive regions in Belgaum district, Karnataka, Central Western Ghats

Aim: Deforestation due to unplanned developmental activities leading to the loss of carbon sequestration capability and the release of stored carbon to the atmosphere has been a prime mover of global warming, with changes in the climate evident from the spatio-temporal changes in the rainfall, increase in temperature, and higher instances of vector-borne diseases. Unregulated land cover changes have necessitated prioritizing ecologically sensitive regions to develop location-specific management strategies. This entails estimating spatio temporal LULC changes using multi-resolution spatial data to understand landscape dynamics, which helps in the prudent management of natural resources. Methodology: accounts for land use transitions in the Belgaum district, part of central Western Ghats, through classifying spatial data over a temporal scale using a supervised classifier. Ecologically sensitive regions are prioritized by integrating bo-geo-climatic, ecological, hydrologic, and social parameters. The current communication Results: Temporal land use analyses reveal a loss of forest cover by 2.99% (90.29 sq km) with an increase in the built-up area during two decades (1989 to 2019 and a decline of contiguous interior forests from 16.26% to 6.77%. Geo-visualisation of likely land uses through a hybrid Fuzzy MCE AHP MCA modeling indicates a further decrease of forest cover of 5.6% by 2029. Hence, it necessitates the conservation of ecologically sensitive regions (ESR) at disaggregated levels. Impacts of Land Use changes Reduction in forest cover Change in forest structure Forest Fragmentation Disturbacne of micro-climate Belgaum District: Ecological Sensitive Regions LULC Change Investigation & Modeling Remote Sensing Data Analysis Interpretation: (ESR2), 52% (99 grids) are high to moderate sensitive (ESR3), and the rest 6% (12 grids) are minimal sensitive (ESR4). Prioritization of the region based on its ecological sensitiveness would facilitate decision-makers in the implementation of effective conservation policies focusing on maintaining the ecological integrity through prudent management of natural resources to support livelihood with the sustenance of natural resources. Edge Effect Modeling Likely Land Use through Hybrid Fuzzy AHP MCA Spatial Pattern Analysis Conservation Strategies Regions with exceptionally high sensitivity (ESR1) cover 15% of the spatial extent of the district, 27% (52 grids) cover higher sensitivity

Automated summary

Deforestation from unplanned development activities has led to carbon loss and global warming. Mapping land use changes using spatial data is important for managing natural resources. In the Belgaum district, there has been a decrease in forest cover and an increase in built-up areas, with further decline predicted in the future.