Assessment Of Land Use/Land Cover Dynamics And Vegetation Health Using Remote Sensing And Gis In The Salaulim Dam Watershed, Goa

The construction of dam in any region is economically helpful as it provides benefits in irrigation, hydel power generation, flood control and domestic water supply. However, the dam may bring significant land use changes that may influence vegetation condition and overall watershed sustainability which requires precise evaluation and monitoring. Remote sensing and GIS play a significant role in monitoring such spatial and temporal changes. The present study aims to assess the temporal dynamics of land use pattern and evaluate vegetation health the study area. The land use land cover classification is carried out by using Landsat satellite images with the help of supervised classification in GIS environment. NDVI, EVI and NDMI has been used for vegetation health assessment. The study has identified changes in land use land cover categories and spatial variations in vegetation density, conditions and moisture status. The study can help in sustainable land resource planning, vegetation conservation and watershed management in Salaulim Dam Watershed.