Assessment of Land Degradation Vulnerability using Geospatial Technique: A Case Study of Kachchh District of Gujarat, India

Land degradation is decline in productivity of land in terms of bio-diversity and economy, resulting from various causes including climate and human dominance, leading to loss of ecosystem. It is an issue of global concern and threatens productivity of land, water, biodiversity, ecology, economy, and people. India, with 2.4% of global land area, is homeland for around 18% of global human population and 30.4% livestock population, supporting more than 8% of world's agriculture with more than 69% area falling under drylands. The blend of high population, high agriculture production and diverse agro-climatic conditions results in excessive pressure on resources. This study is an attempt to access land degradation vulnerability considering human-induced factors, biophysical and climate parameters. Hierarchy-based indexing method is used for analysis using geospatial technique. Study reveals that around 67% of the land area falls under high vulnerability, and 27% area falls under moderate vulnerability. The outcome was further compared with MODIS land surface temperature and normalised difference vegetation index data for validation and is observed that more than 85% area under moderate-high vulnerability is related to increase in surface temperature and/or no-change in vegetation index; this area also falls under low NDVI value range (< 0.3), indicating vulnerable to land degradation. The outcome is useful for stakeholders in understanding the issue and for preparing action plans for combating land degradation.