Land use change analysis of Bharatpur district using GIS

Knowledge on area and distribution of land uses plays an important role in district planning. An attempt has been made here to study existing land use pattern and changes in the land use pattern of Bharatpur district. Multi-date remote sensing data (1986 and 1989) has been used for the purpose. Seventeen land use maps on 1∶50,000 scale were prepared. ARC/INFO GIS package has been employed for the land use analysis. GIS package has also been used to relate the land use information to the villages and arrive at tentative comparison of land use as is reported in Census and as obtained from the remote sensing. Major findings in land use pattern of Bharatpur district are a) that the land use pattern in Bharatpur district is not similar to that of general land use pattern prevalent in Rajasthan State as a whole, b) Agriculture is the predominant user of land occupying about 75 percent of the reporting area, c) Forest cover in the district is not very significant and it has been depleted from 5.6 percent to 3.1 percent, d) the area under pastures and tree crops is also negligible and e) Area under waste land (eroded land, undulating terrain with or without scrub and rock out crops has been increased from 6.34 percent to 7.89 percent. The area under salt affected land, sandy area and water logged area has been decreased from 6.83 percent to 2.09 percent.