LAND OCEAN ATMOSPHERE ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY SPACE LAND DEGRADATION / DESERTIFICATION ASSESSMENT Land degradation leads to a persistent decline in biological and economic productivity of the land resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities. Desertification is land degradation in arid, semiarid and dry-sub humid regions. In India, 32% of total land area is affected by land degradation, of which about 25% is under desertification. Optical & active microwave satellite instruments are extensively used to map land degradation categories (salt-affected area, gully/sheet erosion, wind erosion, water-logged areas, deforestation and deserted croplands). MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS · ISRO is the nodal agency to report desertification status of India to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and has published “Desertification/ Land degradation Atlas of India” MAJOR BENEFITS · Land degradation/ desertification monitoring and vulnerability assessment is Major Projects: helping to prioritise the · Desertification Status Mapping over India (1:500,000 scale) using IRS AWiFS affected areas for · Land degradation mapping (1:50,000 scale) and vulnerability assessment implementing appropriate measures/ action plans for combating desertification Desertification Map FUTURE PLAN · Develop and realise an early warning system which can identify vulnerable areas along with their severity using geoinformatics www.isro.gov.in Indian Space Research Organisation LAND OCEAN ATMOSPHERE ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY SPACE LAND DEGRADATION / DESERTIFICATION ASSESSMENT OPERATIONAL PRODUCTS / SERVICES · Developed the methodology for digital mapping and monitoring of salt-affected and water-logged areas · Technique development for land cover change & long-term monitoring of desertification · Nation-wide mapping of desertification categories at 1:500,000 scale · Mapping of land degradation (1:50,000 scale) categories using IRS LISS-III imagery · Capacity building on land degradation and desertification assessment Desertification study by Linear spectral un-mixing Bare soil RESEARCH/FUTURE AREAS · High-resolution land degradation mapping · Quantification of soil erosion through GIS supported erosion processes modeling · Addressing desertification vulnerability and sustainability issues · New indicators of desertification processes from long-term satellite and climate datasets · Climate change impact on soil erosion and desertification processes Water induced erosion Vegetation cover Frost shattering/heaving (part of Himalaya) Water erosion in Jharkhand Sheet erosion Gullies/ravines New tools for soil-water conservation planning www.isro.gov.in Indian Space Research Organisation
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