Land Use and Land Cover Change Detection Using Geospatial Techniques in the Warana River Basin (WRB), Western Maharashtra, India

Abstract

Mapping, analysis, and monitoring of land use and landcover in micro region is necessary for sustainable land development, planning and management. Evaluation of river basins requires the detection of land-use and land-cover (LULC) changes to determine the hydrological and ecological conditions for the sustainable use of their resources. This study assessed LULC changes over 30 years (1994–2024) in the Warana River Basin (WRB), located in Western Maharashtra. Multi-temporal Landsat-5, Landsat-7, and Landsat-8 Thematic Mapper (TM) imageries of 1994, 2004, 2014, and a high-resolution cloud-free Sentinel 2A MSI (Multispectral Imager) Level-2A(SR) image of 2024 were used for mapping LULC classes of the Warana river basin from 1994 to 2024.The Maximum Likelihood Classifier (MLC) was used for supervised classification in order to create LULC maps of the watershed. Ground realities have been discovered and confirmed by field observations and site-specific interviews, and the accuracy of the classified map was evaluated using a High-Resolution Planet scope image. Over the previous three decades, LULC in the study watershed has seen a number of complex alterations as a result of conventional traditional practices and police changes. Six major LULC classes, viz, Waterbody, Cropland, Barren, Forest, and Habitation, have been identified and indicate that major land use in the watershed is in cropland and forest. The result shows, overall, for 30 years, barren land and forest land decreased slightly by -5.06 % (-151.78 km2) and -7.51%(-225.17 km2) respectively, ultimately increasing Waterbody Cropland, Habitation was observed by 0.74% (22.29km2), 8.53% (256.05 km2), and 3.29% (98.62 km2).The analysis and findings of the study highlight important policy implications for the sustainable LULC management in the Warana River Basin (WRB) of Western Maharashtra.