A study on global land degradation with application of remote sensing and GIS | |
| Author | Pahari, Krishna Jee |
| Call Number | AIT Diss. no.SR-97-02 |
| Subject(s) | Land degradation--Remote sensing Geographic information systems |
| Note | A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Engineering |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Land degradation is recognized as one of the most pressing environmental problems of the world today. Due to the unprecedented level of human pressure on the land resources, it has become a very serious issue of environmental concern over the last several decades. However, in spite of its seriousness, the study on global environment, including that on land degradation has been largely insufficient. The emergence of Remote Sensing is now providing new opportunities for the study of global environment, including land degradation, and together with the Geographic Information Systems (GIS), especially with the Global GIS, there is now a possibility to make a more scientific analysis of the problem. This study is an attempt on the analysis of global land degradation by considering, the land cover data based on the analysis of remotely sensed data as a key variable and then integrating it with other GIS data for the purpose of analysis. Analyzing the state of land degradation, assessing the human impact on land degradation, and the prediction of the future state of land degradation are the there main aspects of this research. The analysis of the current state of land degradation, the so called physical process model, is based on the global vegetation map from the NOAA GVI data, which is then combined with the soil, topographic and rainfall data in producing the global map of soil erosion due to running water. In this process, a revised equation for the soil loss computation is proposed in order to meet the requirements of global analysis. The human impact analysis is carried out by first using the climatic model to simulate the potential land cover map under the prehistoric natural conditions before the human civilization, and then comparing this with the current land cover map. In the later part of the dissertation, an attempt is made to integrate the socio-economic and population data in the model and then use it for predicting the future state of land degradation. After a detailed analysis of change in forest cover with the population density under different levels of economic development, predictions for the future state of forest cover is carried out and this is then used for predicting the land degradation conditions in the future. It is believed that such projections provide an important basis for understanding the need of a global policy in order to conserve the land resources potential with a broad global perspective. |
| Year | 1997 |
| Type | Dissertation |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Other Field of Studies (No Department) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Space Technology Application and Research (SR) |
| Chairperson(s) | Murai, Shunji ;Honda, Kiyoshi; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Delsol, Jean-Pierre ;Kaew Nualchawee ;Morishita, Hideharu;Yasuoka, Yoshifumi; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Government of Japan; |
| Degree | Thesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1997 |