2024, Vol. 7, Special Issue 9

The study assessment of spatial and temporal change in the yellapur forest division, Uttara Kannada district geographically positioned between 74° 25' to 75° 6' East longitudes and 14° 44' to 15° 7' North latitudes. Spatial and temporal change detection is the process of identifying and quantifying the spatial changes of any natural or manmade phenomenon from satellite images of different periods. The LULC map for 2000, 2010 and 2023 was generated using Google Earth Engine. The spatial and temporal changes from 2000 to 2023 in the Yellapur forest division were assessed using QGIS.

Vegetation, which covered 178,108 ha (90.35%) in 2000, decreased to 160,018 ha (81.68%) by 2023, an 8.67 per cent reduction due to deforestation, agricultural expansion and infrastructure development. Agricultural land increased from 12,369 hectares (6.27%) in 2000 to 16,976 ha (8.61%) in 2023, driven by population growth and rising food demand. The built-up area expanded significantly from 4,564 hectares (2.32%) in 2000 to 17,413 hectares (8.83%) in 2023 mainly due to urbanization and infrastructure growth.

Significant land use changes were observed, with notable transitions from vegetation and agricultural land to built-up areas due to urban expansion and infrastructure development. Approximately 15,784.92 hectares of vegetation and 4,904.19 hectares of agricultural land were converted to built-up areas, while 5,263.92 hectares of vegetation were turned into farmland. Around 2,420.82 hectares of agricultural land reverted to vegetation, highlighting dynamic shifts driven by human activities such as plantations In 2000, the overall accuracy was 96.07 per cent with a Kappa coefficient of 0.92. By 2010, accuracy was 95.29 per cent (Kappa 0.91) and in 2023, it reached 95.45 per cent with a Kappa coefficient of 0.94, indicating strong agreement throughout the years.