Bioherald (Int. J. Biodiversity & Environment) Volume 3(1): June 2013 pp. 72 - 75.
ISSN: 2248-9061
POINT OF VIEW Earth's green cover : an issue of concern, needs proper monitoring and management Laxmi N. Goparaju Department of Environmental Science Jawaharlal Nehru Technology University, Hyderabad - 800085, India Email:
[email protected] (Received in April, 2013 and Accepted in June, 2013) Forests cover two-third of the Earth's surface and harbour approximately 90% of terrestrial biodiversity. Our lives revolves around the existence of the forests as they are good sources of carbon storage, purifier of water, regulators of biogeochemical cycles and mitigate climate change. Over the years, increasing population, urbanization and industrialization have threatened the existence of large contiguous forests. To a certain extent, human activities are responsible for destroying and degrading the forests. Thus, it is required to study the changes taking place both in static and dynamic condition. In this regard, a new approach has been provided by the utilization of satellite remote sensing and GIS, coupled with field inventory. The advantage of using this data are many like continuous acquisition of data, regular revisit capabilities, broad regional coverage, good spectral and spatial resolution, cost effective data, map-accurate data, possibility of stereo viewing and large archive of historical data. Such data is helpful in regular monitoring practices and also provides insight into management plans. The present article summarizes the events which have had a major influence in degrading and depleting the green cover of the Earth. It introduces the use of satellite remote sensing data and GIS in monitoring the forest wealth. Keywords: Biodiversity, climate change, forests, GIS, remote sensing.
We celebrated April 22nd as the world Earth day, many pledges and promises were taken to protect the mother Earth from the atrocities of the global climate change. Melting Ice at the Arctic, shifting of the North Pole, storms and hurricanes like sandy and Katrina, irregular rainfall, floods at many places are a few examples which indicate the changing face of climate change. We have pledged to mitigate global climate change, cut down on carbon emissions, green house gases and make the world a greener place to live in. How far are we succeeding in this direction? The present day climatic conditions are a reflection of a post industrialized world. Increasing population, industrialization, urbanization and human activities have coerced this situation. A far sighted approach and integrated management and the use of latest technology like satellite remote sensing and GIS are required to monitor the natural resources.
Developmental activities neither paid attention to the negative aspects nor took any steps to mitigate them. As a result the environment and many ecosystems are in jeopardy. Forests, one of the natural resources which controls many biogeochemical cycles, nutrient cycles and being the driving force for the existence of mankind has been depleting at a very fast rate. Human induced activities have exploited the resource in a most unpardonable manner. Now is the time to ponder over our mistakes and try to find a solution which would lead us towards a sustainable future. Let me through some light and analyze on how certain activities have led to disastrous decrease in the forest cover. 1. Forests and urbanization The ever increasing human population has forced the conversion of forest land for residential
Bioherald 3(1): June 2013
73
buildings and apartments. Large tracts of contiguous forest have been cut to make space for residential buildings. High sky rise buildings have dominated the landscape at the loss of the green cover. The greenery which includes trees and plants provides us shade and is an air purifier has thus been lost. Urban pollution has risen beyond levels and no clean air is left to breathe. Did anyone realize the loss? If we reminisces our past, do we remember our kings and emperors who insisted planting trees along roadsides to provide shelter to the travelers. They maintained good nurseries and green houses of specialized medicinal plants for the welfare of the mankind. Why can't we think like them…and try planting more trees and saplings in our neighbourhood before thinking of cutting a tree? In the national capital region of our country, forest officials are not finding land to plant trees (Times of India, May16, 2013).Many trees are felled in order to provide space for residents, parking etc., and further concretization of pavements has reduced the land having soil. Thus, concrete chokes the trees and is a threat to their survival. If we look towards a sustainable future we must start adopting the following options to make our surroundings greener. 1.1 Landscaping - is an art and science which tries to maintain balance between living elements like flora and fauna, natural elements like elevations, landforms, water bodies etc. thus aiming to provide a beautiful environment. 1.2 Planting trees and saplings – every residential area, school and college campus should leave some place for planting of trees of importance to encourage individuals to protect the environment. 1.3 Green buildings – corporate companies like Siemens have taken the initiative to establish green buildings which are self sustained. 2. Forest conversion
and
developmental
activities/land
Most of the forest land is subjected to conversion either for agricultural purpose or for the establishment of factories/power plants. Additional
activities like building of roads and railway tracts makes the forest fragmented leaving several fragments of various sizes. Tropical forests are biodiversity rich and harbour many rare and endangered species and for the past few decades have been most vulnerable to degradation and deforestation around the world. As a result now it exists as remnants. Forest fragmentation impacts the ecosystem and biodiversity. Loss of biodiversity, forest interior species, habitat, and invasion by alien species are some of the after effects to be noted. In Sathyamangalam wildlife sanctuary, Coimbatore, Chennai, there is a proposal to build roads in the forest region; this idea is opposed by green activists. Truly, this act would disrupt the flora and fauna of the area (Times of India May 17, 2013.) An extensive research has been carried out in dry tropical forests of Vindhyan highlands, India using satellite remote sensing data coupled with Geographic Information System (GIS) and field inventory. The plant communities are seen to be fragmented and exist in a 'patchy condition (Goparaju and Jha, 2010). Species diversity was also different in various fragments of plant communities. Owing to industrialization, the forests of this region are continuously subjected to anthropogenic pressure. 3. Forest and mining Another detrimental activity that is mining is also responsible to a certain extent for the destruction of the forest cover as well as the ecosystem. Dense forests harbor rich metallic ores which are exploited for commercial purpose. Large scale mining operations means clearing large tracts of forests and lot of developmental activity taking place like building of roads. Loss of suitable habitat, biodiversity, air and groundwater pollution are posing threat to mankind and aquatic flora and fauna. The Amazon rainforests have been damaged for the sake of gold deposits. In Odisha, bauxite mining has been undertaken by Vedanta group of companies in the Niyamagiri hills. The famous industrial group failed to maintain the international norms to control pollution, provide adequate rehabilitation facilities and employment for the locals. The Dongaria and Kondh
Laxmi N. Goparaju
74
tribes who inhabit the hills with their strong will and determination have succeeded in not allowing the Vedanta to further establish their industries and carry out mining in their forests. They worship their Lord who dwells in the forest and lead a sustainable life depending on the produce from the forests. 4. Forest plantations
and
palm
oil
plantations/biofuel
There has been an emerging new trend of palm oil plantations, established by clearing large tracts of tropical forests. Biofuel species like Soya and Jatropha have also gained importance. Indonesia, occupies one third of the world's remaining tropical forests. Brazil and Democratic republic of Congo are the other two countries having large tropical forests. The Indonesian government was interested in oil palm plantation because it would reduce their reliance on imported fossil fuels (Dillon et al., 2008). Thus; it is believed that oil palm plantations are responsible for deforestation in Indonesia (Gibbs et al., 2010). The rate of forest loss has increased in between 2005-2010 as compared to 2000-2005, which is 80% attributed to oil palm plantations, the rest 20 % is due to illegal logging and forest land conversion. Forests were cleared, peat swamps were drained which in turn has contributed to green house gas emissions. The other consequences are loss of biodiversity, loss of habitat of Sumatran tigers and Orangutan (Yaap et al., 2010); Elephant and Rhino are also at the brink of extinction. 5. Geospatial technology in monitoring the forest wealth Geospatial technology consists of use of satellite remote sensing data coupled with Geographic Information System (GIS). With the advent and advancement of satellite technology in India, much research and monitoring has been carried out for natural resources for the past few decades. The advantages of using satellite remote sensing data are many, since it has potential beyond the traditional means of inventory and field survey. Data can be collected and analyzed for inaccessible and terrain areas. Accurate information is available in a
short period of time, natural disasters can be studied from local, regional to global scale. There are certain terms to be acquainted with for better understanding of satellite remote sensing data. These are temporal resolution, Spectral resolution, spatial resolution and radiometric resolution. (1) Temporal resolution: the frequency of coverage of ground by the remote sensing system. Examples are: Cartosat 2 (2007) has a frequency of 5 days; IRS 1A/1B, 1988 and 1991 LISS I – have a repitivity for 22 days; IRS- P4 (1999-OCM and MSMR) has a frequency of 2 days. (2) Spectral resolution: it refers to the dimension and number of wavelength regions (or bands) in the electromagnetic spectrum to which the sensor is sensitive. Examples are: IRS –P3 (1996) MOS- A – 4 bands; MOS- B – 13 bands and MOS- C – 1band. (3) Spatial resolution: defines the pixel size of satellite images acquired. The ability to distinguish two closely spaced objects in an image. To describe it in terms of the geometric properties of the imaging system, it is known as instantaneous field of view (IFOV). It is defined as the maximum angle of view in which a sensor can effectively detect electromagnetic energy. Examples are Geo Eye 1; World View -2; Quickbird; IKONOS; Cartosat 1; and SPOT5, ASTER; LANDSAT 7 and CBERS -2. (4) Radiometric resolution: is a measure of how many grey levels are there between pure black and pure white. It is measured in bits: 7bit (0-127), 8bit (0-255), 9bit (0-511), 10bit (0-1023). Examples: IRS -1A/1B (1988, 1991) measure images in 7 bits. Cartosat -2 (2007) produces images in 10 bit radiometric resolution.16 bit images are obtained from IRS -P3 (1996) MOS –A, MOS –B and MOS – C. 5.1 Geographic information system (GIS): It is computer based software which has the capability to
75
efficiently store, retrieve, manipulate and analyze various spatial data. Various thematic layers can be integrated into a single domain and get useful maps as per user requirement. Coupled with ground inventory, excellent results are obtained; Foresters can get more accurate and cost-effective information, and can directly observe as large an area as necessary. Due to the versatility and scale of remote sensing, it is invaluable in all stages of forest management. Some examples in forest studies are as follows: (1) Forest change detection and quantifying forest fragmentation: Changes in forest can be monitored spatially using multi date satellite images. Digital Image processing techniques help to locate, identify and map the variations and change in vegetated areas. Forest fragments can be studied in GIS domain in terms of patch size, shape, mean patch area, mean patch perimeter etc., and in conjunction with ground truth biodiversity levels can also be assessed in various fragments (Jha et al., 2005). (2) Forest fire monitoring: Using remote sensing images it is easier to detect burned area, smoke plumes or smoke haze, hot spots, change in temperature. Pre and Post fire situation can be monitored over large regional areas (Eva and Lambin, 2000). (3) Suitable habitat for wildlife: habitat suitability maps to conserve intactness (Kushwaha and Roy, 2002). (4) Biodiversity mapping: Biodiversity rich areas have been mapped across the country in various phases sponsored by Department of Biotechnology and Department of Space, Government of India. Such efforts will prove to be beneficial for conserving the bioresources of the country (Roy and Behera, 2002). 6. Conclusion As the old proverb says ' As you sow so shall you reap' will be appropriate to make us understand, if we protect the forests now we shall reap the benefits in future. Let us stop activities which are detrimental and hazardous, like mining, discouraging the building of roads and railways in forest interior areas. We should join hands in conserving the forests - both small and large patches, preserving the remaining biodiversity,
Bioherald 3(1): June 2013
and protecting the habitats of plant and animal species. We should look towards urbanization with more greenery, mining and other activities along with more mitigating efforts, biofuel plantations with a sustainable approach and the use of technology aiding in monitoring of natural resources. We should dream of green pastures providing a sustainable future to many generations coming ahead and with our efforts make this dream come true. References Dillon, H.S., Laan, T. & Dillon, H.S. 2008. Biofuel at what cost? Government support for ethanol and biodiesel in Indonesia. Global Subsidies InitiativeInternational Institute for Sustainable Development, Geneva, Switzerland. Eva & Lambin 2000. Fires and Landcover change in the tropics: a remote sensing analysis at the landscape scale. Journal of Biogeography 27: 765776. Gibbs, H.K., Ruesch, A.S., Achard, F., Clayton, M.K., Holmgren, P., Ramankutty, N. & Foley, J.A. 2010. Tropical forests were the primary sources of new agricultural land in the 1980s and 1990s. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 107(38):1673216737.http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0910275107 Goparaju, L. & Jha, C.S. 2010. Spatial dynamics of species diversity in fragmented plant communities of a Vindhyan dry tropical forest of India. Tropical Ecology 51(1):55-65. Jha, C.S., Goparaju, L., Tripathi, A., Gharai, B., Raghubanshi, A. & Singh, J.S. 2005. Forest fragmentation and its impact on species diversity: an analysis using remote sensing and GIS. Biodiversity and Conservation 14:1681-1698. Kushwaha, S.P.S. & Roy, P.S. 2002. Geospatial Technology for wildlife habitat evaluation. Tropical Ecology 43(1).137-150. Roy, P.S. & Behera, M.D. 2002. Biodiversity assessment at landscape level. Tropical Ecology 43(1): 151-171. Yaap, B., Struebig, M.J., Paoli, G. & Koh, L.P. 2010. Mitigating the biodiversity impacts of oil palm development. CAB Reviews: Perspectives in Agriculture, Veterinary Science, Nutrition and Natural Resources 5(019):1-11. Availabie at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1079/PAVSNNR20105019
ISS SN : 2248-9061
Volume 3(1): June 2013 13
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