Multiscale analysis of land use and land cover changes in Sri Lanka by remote sensing: the impacts of post-war infrastructure development in the last 20 Years (2002-2022)
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: On a worldwide scale, land use and land cover changes (LULCC) is a major driver of global change and biodiversity erosion. This study aims to monitor at the scale of Sri Lanka, LULCC and vegetation dynamics, to identify the main changes and their drivers. It places emphasis on multiscale geospatial monitoring with satellite data but also mobilises the interdisciplinary knowledge of a research programme. First, national scale data allows the identification of major changes with the MODIS NDVI dataset using Mann-Kendall tests and time profile analysis. A second local scale was mobilised with a systematic diachronic visual interpretation of high-resolution images on Google Earth. The third step, a macro-regional scale focus on the South and East coasts, used LANDSAT imagery (Stacked K-means) verified by field studies (botanical and vegetation analysis, and interviews). About 92.5% of the island of Sri Lanka is stable or presents no significant trends in the vegetation cover. 5% show a significant positive (greening) trend between 2000 and 2020 around the Puttalam lagoon, west of the Samanalawewa Reservoir, in the Udawalawe National Park, east and north of Ella, and the Nuwaragala Forest Reserve. Only about 2.5% (165,000 ha) of the Island shows a negative significant trend mainly in the periphery of Colombo and Trincomalee. The first driver is a set of national planning decisions in terms of infrastructure development (including urban growth, housing programmes and agricultural fields, and the management of protected areas). The second driver comes under rural dynamics with increasing tree density in rural landscapes over the Uva Province. Infrastructure development initiated by the state, creates both underlying conditions for other activities and negative impacts on coastal ecosystems, such as degradation of wetlands (including protected areas).
Authors: J. Andrieu, K. Anupama, N. Bautes, S. Benabou, O-J. Crook, V. Gunasekara, T. Jayasingam, C. Jayathilaka, K.A.S. Kodikara, F. Lombard, S.K. Madarasinghe, T. Mathiventhan, G. Muthusankar, R. Premathilake, C. Proisy, N. Vanniasinkam, N. Weeratunge, N. Wickramaarachchi, R. Mathevet
Institutions: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Côte d'Azur, Instituts Français de Recherche à L'Étranger, Étude des Structures, des Processus d’Adaptation et des Changements de l’Espace, French Institute of Pondicherry, Espaces et Sociétés, Université de Nantes, Université de Caen Normandie, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Structure et Instabilité des Génomes, Patrimoines locaux, Environnement et Globalisation, International Centre for Ethnic Studies, Eastern University, Sri Lanka, University of Peradeniya, University of Ruhuna, University of Kelaniya, Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement, Université de Montpellier, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, UMR Botanique et Modélisation de l’Architecture des Plantes et des végétations, Centre d'Écologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive
Language: English
Topic: Remote Sensing and Land Use
Subfield: Geography, Planning and Development
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4390600971