Spatio-temporal analysis of urban forest fragmentation in Delhi, India, using Landscape Fragmentation Tool v2.0

Remote sensing (RS) has been widely used to assess the forest health status. Forest fragmentation has been recognized as a threat to the forest as it causes loss of biodiversity. The study of forest fragmentation is important for the conservative approach to forest area. In recent years, the urban forest has witnessed forest fragmentation. The present study focused on the assessment of vegetation cover and forest fragmentation using multi-temporal satellite data (1991, 2001, 2011, and 2021). Landscape Fragmentation Tool v2.0 (LFT v2.0) was used to analyze forest fragmentation in the urban forest of Delhi: Sanjay Van and Southern Ridge by assigning an edge width of 100 m. LFT v2.0 categorizes forest fragmentation into four class categories: patch, perforated, edge, and core classes. It was found that vegetation cover in Sanjay Van has decreased by 1.96%, whereas the area under vegetation covered in the Southern Ridge increased by 4.62% in the last decade. The assessment of forest fragmentation found that patch forests have increased and declined in core forest areas. These changes suggested a high disturbance due to anthropogenic activities leading to the degradation of the forest's health. The finding of the study helps in the identification of sensitive areas which require immediate conservation measures for the reclamation and restoration of degraded forest areas. With proper management, plans, and policies, continuous, intact, and healthy forests can be restored to maintain ecosystem integrity and thereby regulate all ecosystem services efficiently.