International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume2 Issue1 Number1 – Jul 2011
LANDUSE/LANDCOVER CHANGE MAPPING IN AND AROUND
MAMALLAPURAM, SOUTH OF CHENNAI
BY USING REMOTE SENSING AND GIS
K. ILAYARAJA*, A. AMBICA, AMITABHA DAS AND CHERYL C MARAK
Department of Civil Engg, Bharath University, Chennai, Tamilnadu, India
ABSTRACT: The present study aims to find out the land use/land cover features of the area in and
around Mamallapuram, South East Coast of India. The area covers a lot of previously reserve forests
and natural habitats which are gradually being urbanised. The total study area is about 368.5sq.km.
The study has made use of 30 meter resolution LANDSAT multispectral imagery obtained from
Global Land cover facility of NASA for identifying the land use/land cover classes. Remote sensing
and GIS provide consistent and accurate base line information than many of the conventional surveys
employed for such a task. The study aims to map the land use and land cover in and around the
Mamallapuram region by using visual interpretation techniques. ESRI’s ArcGIS software was used to
demarcate the land use/land cover features of the study area and to categorise various classes of such
as built-up land, agriculture land, water bodies, forest and waste land using the satellite image. The
research concludes that there is a rapid expansion of built-up area which is replacing the wasteland.
The waterbodies have also shown a decline with the continuity of backwaters and the Buckingham
canal disrupted.
Keywords: Landuse, Landcover, change detection, Mamallapuram
I. INTRODUCTION
Land use and land cover information, when used along with information on other natural resources,
like water, soil, hydro-geomorphology, etc. will help in the optimal land use planning at the macro
and micro level. Though urbanization is a worldwide phenomenon, it is especially prevalent in India,
where urban areas have experienced an unprecedented rate of growth over the last 30 years (UN,
2007). Very high growth rates have been observed in India, where the total population has doubled
during the last 50 years, while the urban population has grown nearly five times (Taubenböck et
al.2008). During the last years models of land use change and urban growth have been expanded and
have become important tools for city planners, economists, ecologists and resource managers to
support intelligent decisions” (Herold et al.2001).
Remote Sensing is the technique of deriving information about objects on the surface of earth without
coming into contact with the objects or area, or phenomenon under investigation. This process
involves making observations using sensors (cameras, scanners, radiometer, radar etc.) mounted on
platforms (aircraft and satellites), which are at a considerable height from the earth surface and
recording the observations on a suitable medium (images on photographic films and videotapes or
digital data on magnetic tapes). Satellite remote sensing is widely used as a tool in many parts of the
world for the management of the resources and activities. Data from space platforms can be used to
detect, delineate, map, and identify features, patterns, shapes, texture variations and their spatial
relationships on a particular geographic area. Remote sensing techniques can provide information
about land cover with a high level of detail as well as high temporal frequency and has already shown
their value in mapping urban areas (Herold et al.2003; Jürgens, 2001, 2003; Maktav et al.2005;
Taubenböck et al.2009). Besides the observation of a status at a particular time, remote sensing
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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume2 Issue1 Number1 – Jul 2011
provides also the possibility to observe the development of an investigation area by change detection
(Lillesand & Kiefer, 2004). Spatiotemporal analysis using time series of remote sensing data enables
the derivation of urban footprints, thus to monitor and quantitatively describe the urban structure and
development (Herold et al.2003; Lucas et al.2007; Taubenböck et al.2009).
The paper tries to analyse the urbanisation changes in the Mamallapuram area through LU/LC
techniques. It specially emphasises on the degrading water body called the Buckingham canal which
was a navigational channel not long days back.
II. STUDY AREA
The study area extends from Kalpakkam to the south east and up to the fringes of Kovalam in the
north east covering Mamallapuram. The study area lies between 12’46”27” N 18’15”43” E to
12’46”17” N to 80’5”12” E in the south western end. The total command area for the study is 368.5
sq.km. To the North West lies the Nelikuppam area which extends to Virapuram in the south west.
The area covers a lot of previously reserve forests and natural habitats which are gradually being
urbanized.
Figure 1 Study area
The place is also an important historical heritage of Pallava dynasty and is a popular tourist spot with
scenic beaches and temples. The beach pagoda is one of the UNESCO and world heritage spots in
India. The climate is typically coastal with very hot summers. The climate stays usually warm
throughout the year with summer temperature varying between 30-42°C (March-July). Rainfall occurs
between August-December/January. The winter climate is predominantly absent and temperature in
August-February varies between 25-35°C.
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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume2 Issue1 Number1 – Jul 2011
III. OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the study are to assess the nature of Land use/landcover usage in the area in the past
40 years. All the pixels in the SOI toposheet and LANDSAT imageries were classified into land cover
classes or themes. Finally the visual comparison of maps was used to assess the alteration of geoenvironmental condition with special focus on Buckingham canal.
IV. METHODOLOGY
The methodology workflow followed for carrying out the study is depicted in Figure 2. The SOI
toposheet and the LANSAT images are first georeferenced and projected by using ArcGIS software.
The projected maps are then digitised by visual interpretation techniques. Finally base and thematic
maps are prepared, and by visual overlay and analysis of various attribute data, LU/LC changes are
detected over the period of time.
SATELLITE IMAGE
SOI TOPOSHEET
GEOREFERENCING
PROJECTION/DIGITIZATION
VISUAL IMAGE INTERPRETATION
BASE MAP
THEMATIC MAP
LU/LC CHANGE DETECTION
Figure 2 Methodology
V. DATA SOURCES
Data in this study are used of digital topographic maps dated 1970 with an SCALE of 1:25000.
LANDSAT TM satellite data obtained from GLCF were used to generate land use map for 1970 and
2006 (Path 143/Row 53). The LANDSAT program represents a series of earth observation satellites
that have been continuously available since 1972. It started with the Multi-Spectral-Scanner (MSS)
featuring a geometric resolution of 79 meters and a spectral resolution of four bands (green, red, two
near infrared bands). Since 1982 the Thematic Mapper (TM) has operated with 30 meter geometric
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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume2 Issue1 Number1 – Jul 2011
resolution and seven spectral bands. Since 1999 the Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) has
operated with an additional panchromatic band at 15 meter geometric resolution.
VI. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The Mamallapuram area is a coastal area with ancient heritage sites like the shore temple and tiger
caves. Over the years from 1970 to 2006, the study has shown a rapid increase in settlements and
built-up area and increased land utilization as evident from Table 1. As evident from the data, the
vegetation cover has improved from 20% in 1970 to 26% in 2006. This can be attributed to the fact
that most of the barren land and land with wild shrub cover have either been brought under settlement
or agricultural cover. As the area is very near the coastline, the saline affected lands have been
properly utilized during the period.
Table 1. Mamallapuram area-Land utilization from 1970-2006
1970 SOI Topo-sheet
Sl.no.
1991 LANDSAT
2006 LANDSAT
%
Area (In km.sq.)
%
1
LU/LC Area(In
Feature km.sq.)
Water bodies
68.522
18.60
27.56
2
Vegetation
75.369
20.46
3
Settlement
110.015
4
Wasteland
114.442
TOTAL
368.5
%
7.47
Area (In
km.sq.)
50.19
104.94
28.45
96.91
26.30
29.86
168.97
45.81
189.42
51.40
31.06
67.37
18.51
30.71
8.33
368.5
13.62
368.5
The population density has also increased manifolds from 1970 to 2006. This can be attributed to
development along the coastline region and increase of fishing and other allied industries. It may be
also noted that Mamallapuram is also an important religious and tourist attraction in Southern India.
The build-up area around Mamallapuram has seen an increase of tourist amenities and
commercialization due to increased revenue generation. This is evident from the graph as shown.
60.000
%
50.000
40.000
30.000
20.000
TOPOSHEET
10.000
1991 IMAGE
0.000
2006 IMAGE
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Figure 3
Figure 4
A. Settlements
The data from 1970 map to 2006 shows a rhetoric rise in built-up area. The total built-up area was just
110 sq. km in 1990 (30%), which skyrocketed to 169 sq. km in 1991(45%) and 190 sq. km (51.4%) in
2006. Most of the settlements have come up in swampy areas which were categorized as wastelands
before. Also the settlements have come up in the fringes of reserved forests especially the Kattur R.F
and Thiruporur R.F area. The massive increase in the built-up area is a sign of development along the
coastal areas and increased population (Biswajit et al, 2006). Also Mamallapuram being a place of
tourist interest, there is an increase in tourist amenities like resorts and hotels. Also there is a shift
from primary rural livelihood to urbanization as evident from increased built-up areas around the
smaller towns. Effective land utilization by proper urban planning is the need of hour to preserve this
world heritage site and the areas around it.
B. Waterbodies Degradation
The Waterbodies of study area has degraded from 18% in 1970 to a mere 7% in 1991. It has again
revived to 13% in 2006. It is also evident from the maps that the coastal backwaters surrounding the
Buckingham Canal was continuous in the year 1970 which loosed its continuity owning to increased
encroachment on the backwaters. The revival of the Waterbodies in 2006 is a positive sign towards
good water management. The Buckingham canal used to be an important waterway for navigation and
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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume2 Issue1 Number1 – Jul 2011
drinking purposes in the earlier times, which has been rendered unusable due to waste and industrial
effluent dumping in the recent times. The Figures 5 and 6 gives an idea about the degeneration.
Figure 5 Waterbodies in 1970
Figure 6 Waterbodies in 1991
C. Wastelands
The base map prepared from 1970 SOI toposheet shows an increased utilization of wastelands. Being
a coastal area, much of the land (31%) along coastlines were saline effected and inappropriate for any
use in that time. Due to technological advances much of the wastelands have been converted to either
built-up areas or for agricultural usage. The wasteland has shrinked to 18.5% in 1991 and further to
8.3% in 2006. The rapid shift towards wasteland usage can be attributed to increased pressure on the
land resources due to coastal migration of people, as the coastal towns are developing rapidly.
D. Vegetation cover
The vegetation cover shows a trend of positive and managed development. It increased from 20% in
1970 to 28% in 1991. It degraded 2% to 26% in 2006, which is more or less acceptable. It may be
noted that a large amount of wasteland has been converted to vegetation. The previously reserved
forest areas have in turn been converted to settlements, such as the Kattur and Taiyur reserved forests.
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The newly converted vegetation cover are in general for agricultural use. Thus the diminished forests
consisting of canopy vegetation has a degrading effect on environment.
VI. CONCLUSION
From the temporal study of Mamallapuram from the year 1970 to 2006, it can be concluded that the
area is developing rapidly as evident from the increase in built up area. The vegetation cover has
increased substantially, but most of the reserved forests have degraded. The wastelands have mainly
been utilized for developing built-up areas. The waterbodies have been effectively revived in the year
2006 as compared from the image of 1991. The continuity of Buckingham canal is hampered, which
is a negative sign of development at the cost of environment. The wastelands have been mainly
utilized for settlement purposed due to increased population along the coastal areas. Mamallapuram
being a heritage spot, proper planning and sustainable development should be carried out in order to
preserve it, maintain a healthy forest cover and keep the beautiful coastline clean and free from
pollution.
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