Role of Geospatial Technology in Shifting Cultivation Studies in India: A Systematic Review

Shifting cultivation is a traditional farming system that has been practised in many parts of the world for centuries. It is rampant in the northeast region of India and has widespread environmental and socio-economic impacts. The application of geospatial technology for studying the same has been slowly but surely gaining momentum. This systematic review follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol, intending to present a comprehensive picture of remote sensing-based shifting cultivation studies in India to date, collate their findings, and identify research gaps that could be addressed using geospatial techniques. For the review, Scopus search results were refined to eliminate redundancies, and a total of 44 English language publications from peer-reviewed scientific journals were considered. The studies were apposed about their respective areas of interest, satellite data and products used, time frames, approaches, and findings. A majority of the studies are focused on mapping and monitoring shifting cultivation areas, using Landsat or IRS LISS III imagery. In the Indian context, geospatial technology can be effectively used to explore the pattern of spatio-temporal variations of shifting cultivation, disturbance and recovery cycles, secondary vegetation growth, and impacts of shifting cultivation on carbon dynamics and climate. With the availability of new sensors, data integration methods, and free algorithms/software and platforms, geospatial technology has the potential to address various aspects related to shifting cultivation.