Application of remote sensing and GIS for sustainable development

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Monograph

Persistent identifier:: 856472832

Title:: Application of remote sensing and GIS for sustainable development

Sub title:: [Workshop on "Environmental Modelling Using RS & GIS for Sustainable Development" ... on 11th March 1999]

Scope:: 82 Seiten

Year of publication:: 1999

Place of publication:: Coventry

Publisher of the original:: RICS Books

Identifier (digital):: 856472832

Illustration:: Illustrationen, Diagramme, Karten

Language:: English

Usage licence:: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Publisher of the digital copy:: Technische Informationsbibliothek Hannover

Place of publication of the digital copy:: Hannover

Year of publication of the original:: 2016

Document type:: Monograph

Collection:: Earth sciences

Chapter

Title:: NATIONAL SOIL AND LAND DEGRADATION MAPPING - REMOTE SENSING PERSPECTIVE. L. Venkataratnam

Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

NATIONAL SOIL AND LAND DEGRADATION MAPPING - REMOTE SENSING PERSPECTIVE L. Venkataratnam Agriculture & Soils Group National Remote Sensing Agency, Dept, of Space, Hyderabad INTRODUCTION The natural resources of a country are of primary importance for the development of economic life of its inhabitants and more specifically the soil resources because they are non-renewable vital resources for agricultural production and also for the development of non-agricultural sectors. The soils are highly vulnerable to degradation and nature takes very long period (say 300 - 1000 years) to form an inch of the top fertile soil. Scientific management of soils is essential for the both continued agricultural productivity and protection of the environment. A pre-requisite for this is comprehensive information on soil resources in terms of types of soils, their spatial distribution, extent, their limitations viz., erosion, salinization / alkalization, water logging etc., and their potential / capabilities. This information is needed for a variety of purposes such as optimum land use planning, command area development, soil conservation in catchment areas, rainfed farming, watershed management, reclamation of degraded lands etc. This requires systematic characterization of soils, more accurate mapping of soils and developing rational and scientific criteria for interpretation of soil information for various land uses. Similarly, the information on the nature, extent, spatial distribution and magnitude of land degradation plays a vital role in planning strategies for reclamation / conservation of degraded lands. NEED AND SCALE OF MAPPING The soil maps are required on different scales varying from 1:1 million to 1:4000 to meet the requirements of planning at various levels (Table 1). Because the scale of a soil map has direct correlation with the information content and field investigations that are carried out. Small scale soil maps of 1:1 million are needed for macro level planning at National level. The soil maps at 1:250,000 scale provide information for planning at regional or state level with generalised interpretation of soil information for determining the suitability and limitations for several agricultural and non-agricultural uses and requires less intensity of soil observations and time. The soil maps at 1:50,000 scale where association of soil series are depicted, serve the purpose for planning resources conservation and optimum land use at district level and require moderate intensity of observations in the field. The large scale soil maps at 1:8,000 or 1:4,000 scale are specific purpose maps which can be generated through high intensity of field observations based on maps at 1:50,000 scale or large scale aerial photographs or very high resolution satellite data. Similarly, information on degraded lands like salt affected soils, eroded soils, water logged areas, jhum lands etc., is required at different scales Re planning strategies for reclamation and conservation of degraded lands. SOIL SURVEY STATUS IN THE COUNTRY Soil survey programme in India started during pre independence era and progressed significantly. Soil surveys are being carried out by various central and state level organizations. The soil surveys done till 1970 (20% of the area of the country) lacked correlation, uniform nomenclature and appropriate soil mapping units with legends. According to Report of the Task Force (1984) constituted by the Planning Commission, the total area surveyed in the country upto 1983 under detailed and reconnaissance soil surveys are 33.5 and I 15.0 million hectares, respectively. From late eighties onward, soil survey and mapping at 1:50,000 scale is being done by different agencies using satellite data and soil maps are used as critical input for generating action plans for development of land and water resources on sustainable basis. National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (NBSS & LUP) has prepared soil maps at 1:250,000 scale for the whole country. Approximately l/3 ,d of the total geographical area of the country is already mapped at 1:50,000 scale by various organi zations under different projects. (Table 2) (DOS, 1999) Efforts are made by various agencies to identify various types of degraded lands, their spatial extent and severity levels (Table 3). According to National Commission on Agriculture (1976) 175 million hectares of land constituting 53.3 percent of the total geogra phical area of 329 million hectares are subject to some

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