Modelling Three Decades of Land Use Dynamics in Western Himalaya

Advanced technologies like remote sensing, GIS and computer models play a crucial role in speeding up the whole land management processes. Considering the growing knowledge and demand in the field of Geoinformatics, the book is aimed for researchers studying land use and land cover dynamics using time series satellite and thematic data. The study was carried out over Shimla Distirct which is considered as Queen of Hills in the Western Himalaya located in the Himachal Pradesh of India. The study reveals land cover details about Shimla District using multispectral satellite remote sensing data from 1970s, 1980s and 1990s; dealt with multi criteria decision making methods and spatial analytical hierarchical processes (AHP) technique for identifying potential tourism zones and for identifying natural suitability regions of agriculture, forest and human settlement & Conflict resolution methods; Forest cover change using Markov chain based non-spatial Approach was explored; Positive and Negative forest cover changes were modelled using Bayesian based Spatial Approach. Overall, book provides insight into various issues, approaches and models related to changes in the forested landscape.