Journal of Geography, Environment and Earth Science International

Identification of Cultivable Wastelands in Meghalaya, India using Geospatial Technology for Agricultural Reclamation

2026-10-05T11:52:30+00:00

Cultivable wastelands suitable for cultivation are a significant land resource that can be utilised to improve agricultural productivity and sustainable land management. The present study aimed to estimate the cultivable wastelands of Meghalaya using Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques and to assess the possibilities for reclaiming wastelands for agriculture. Multispectral satellite data from the LISS-IV sensor for the period 2025-2026 were processed to create a False Colour Composite (FCC), and Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) classification was performed using visual image interpretation to distinguish the major cultivable wasteland categories: Dense Scrub Land, Sparse Scrub Land, Grasslands/Grazing Lands, and Shifting Cultivation Area. About 340,673.36 ha, representing almost 15.2% of the total geographical area of Meghalaya, were identified as cultivable wastelands. Among the identified categories, Sparse Scrub Land occupied the largest area (206,595.18 ha), followed by Dense Scrub Land (99,488.89 ha), Shifting Cultivation Area (34,331.34 ha), and Grasslands/Grazing Lands (257.94 ha). The distribution of these wastelands suggests considerable potential for reclamation through appropriate land restoration and sustainable management practices. The spatial database and thematic maps generated provide baseline information for land-use planning, resource management, and policy formulation aimed at enhancing agricultural productivity and the sustainable utilisation of wastelands in Meghalaya.

Modelling Future Vegetation-Cover Change Scenarios in Baringo County, Kenya, up to 2055 Using MSAVI and CA-Markov- MLP

2026-10-07T10:26:39+00:00

Vegetation-cover change is an important component of land degradation in arid and semi-arid lands because it affects forage availability, soil protection, ecosystem function, and pastoral livelihood options. This study quantified historical changes in vegetation condition across the arid and semi-arid lands of Baringo County, Kenya, and developed a scenario-based projection to 2055. Historical and contemporary vegetation-condition rasters for 1994 and 2024 were classified using the Modified Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (MSAVI) into sparse vegetation, grass, and dense vegetation. Observed 1994-2024 transitions were summarised with a Markov transition matrix and spatially allocated using a Cellular Automata-Markov framework supported by a Multi-Layer Perceptron transition-potential model. Climatic and biophysical covariates were used to spatially constrain the SSP5-8.5 scenario projection. The study area comprised 21,086,319 cells on a common 20-m analysis grid, equivalent to 8,434.53 km². Between 1994 and 2024, dense vegetation declined from 4,179.64 to 3,508.28 km² (-16.1%), while grass increased by 408.77 km² (+12.2%) and sparse vegetation by 262.59 km² (+29.2%). Under the modelled 2055 scenario, dense vegetation decreases to 3,185.63 km², representing a cumulative reduction of approximately 23.8% from the 1994 baseline; sparse vegetation increases by 52.1%, and grass by 15.7%. Summary validation statistics (R2 = 0.693, RMSE = 0.047 MSAVI units, overall accuracy = 71.48%, mean bias = +0.003) indicate moderate landscape-scale predictive performance. The results should be interpreted as scenario projections rather than deterministic forecasts, particularly because the historical baseline predates Sentinel-2 and because Markov-based projections assume persistence in the broad structure of observed transition processes. The projected decline in dense vegetation and continued expansion of sparse cover identify priority areas for rangeland restoration, vegetation monitoring, and spatially targeted land-management planning.

Land-Use and Land-Cover Change and its Association with Land Degradation in Njaluahun Chiefdom, Eastern Sierra Leone: A Multi-Temporal Landsat Assessment

2026-10-07T13:13:04+00:00

Land-use and land-cover (LULC) change is closely associated with land degradation in rural landscapes of Sierra Leone, yet long-term chiefdom-scale assessments remain limited. This study assessed multi-decadal LULC change in Njaluahun Chiefdom, Kailahun District, using Landsat imagery from 1991, 2001, 2010 and 2021 and examined local perceptions of land degradation through household surveys. Supervised classification distinguished trees/forest, crop/fallow, wetland, open water and built/barren classes within the official 256 km² chiefdom area. Because unclassified/cloud/no-data pixels increased from 0.0 km² in 1991 to 40.0 km² in 2021, trends were also evaluated as percentages of classified pixels. Between 1991 and 2021, trees/forest declined from 67.0 to 21.3 km², wetlands from 54.1 to 16.1 km², and open water from 42.9 to 18.8 km². Over the same period, crop/fallow increased from 40.4 to 78.4 km² and built/barren from 51.6 to 81.4 km². Forest loss was most rapid after 2001. Household interviews with 200 long-term residents indicated that slash-and-burn upland cultivation, over-cropping, deforestation and small-scale mining were perceived as important drivers of land degradation, while knowledge of sustainable management practices remained limited. The combined remote-sensing and community evidence identifies consistent landscape-change patterns while supporting association rather than quantitative causal attribution to individual livelihood activities, thereby supporting more targeted land-use planning decisions.

Interactive Effects of Potassium Fertilization and Rice Residue Management on Soil Potassium Fractions in a Rice-Rice Cropping System

2026-10-12T09:29:35+00:00

Soil potassium (K) dynamics are strongly influenced by fertiliser and crop-residue management in intensive rice systems. A field experiment was conducted at the Agricultural Research Station, Tornala, Telangana, India, during rabi 2024-25 and kharif 2025 to evaluate the effects of potassium fertilisation and rice-residue management on soil K fractions in a rice–rice cropping system. The experiment comprised nine treatment combinations involving three K levels (0, 50 and 100% of the recommended K dose) and three residue-management practices (removal, incorporation and burning), laid out in a randomised block design with three replications. Water-soluble, exchangeable, non-exchangeable and total K were determined at tillering, panicle initiation and harvest. Residue incorporation consistently maintained greater K pools than residue removal, while burning produced intermediate values. Application of 100% recommended potassium fertiliser coupled with residue incorporation maintained the highest K status, whereas residue removal coupled with omission of fertiliser potassium recorded the lowest. At harvest, treatments receiving 100% recommended potassium fertiliser coupled with residue incorporation maintained 70.9, 36.4, 44.5 and 26% greater water-soluble, exchangeable, non-exchangeable and total K, respectively, than residue removal treatments. Residue incorporation also improved K pools without fertiliser K, highlighting the contribution of residue-derived K recycling. Overall, integrating adequate K fertilization with residue incorporation effectively maintained both labile and reserve K pools, thereby strengthening soil K-supplying capacity and environmental sustainability under intensive rice–rice cultivation.

An Analytical Hierarchy Process-Integrated GIS Approach for Mapping Landslide Susceptibility in Kullu District, India

2026-10-16T12:34:43+00:00

Aims: To integrate the weighted thematic layers within a GIS environment to generate and validate a spatial landslide susceptibility map.

Study Design: A GIS-based analytical study integrating the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was undertaken for spatial assessment and mapping of landslides. The methodology involved the identification of landslide conditioning factors, AHP-based weighting of factors and sub-factors, spatial integration of weighted thematic layers, and classification and validation of the resulting susceptibility map.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in Kullu district, Himachal Pradesh, India, covering an area of approximately 5,503 km² and extending between 31°20′–32°25′ N and 76°56′–77°52′ E. The study was conducted from January to August 2026.

Methodology: Twelve conditioning factors were selected based on a systematic literature review, expert opinion, field investigations, and historical landslide inventories: slope gradient, Topographic Wetness Index (TWI), drainage density, relative relief, Stream Power Index (SPI), geomorphology, distance from roads, curvature, distance from lineaments, elevation, slope aspect and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Pairwise comparisons of the selected factors and their sub-factors were performed using Saaty's 1–9 AHP scale. The weighted thematic layers were subsequently integrated into a GIS environment to generate the final landslide susceptibility map. A total of 37 landslide locations were identified from the Geological Survey of India (GSI) inventory, of which seven were used for validation alongside 100 randomly selected non-landslide points located outside 200 m buffers around identified landslides.

Results: The 12 causative factors showed substantial spatial variability across Kullu district, reflecting diverse topographic, hydrological, structural, geomorphological and vegetation conditions. AHP assigned the highest weights to slope (0.2559), TWI (0.1932) and drainage density (0.1459), together contributing 59.5% of the total weight, while relative relief and SPI were moderately important. The consistency ratio (0.0616) indicated acceptable consistency. Very low, low, medium, high and very high susceptibility zones covered 22.74%, 31.18%, 24.76%, 13.57% and 7.74%, respectively. ROC analysis demonstrated excellent model performance (AUC = 0.955), with 80.49% sensitivity and 89.94% specificity. The findings highlight the importance of terrain steepness and hydrological conditions in determining landslide susceptibility and provide a useful spatial screening tool for prioritising field investigations, slope stabilisation, drainage management, and environmentally informed land-use planning in the Himalayan landscape. Because the validation included only seven landslide locations, the reported AUC and associated performance metrics should be interpreted cautiously.

Anthropogenic Forest Fires, Floral Diversity and Non-Timber Forest Products: A Critical Narrative Review of Mechanisms, Contradictions and Management Trade-offs

2026-10-08T08:12:21+00:00

Human-ignited fires now dominate the fire regimes of many tropical and subtropical forests, woodlands and savannas, including the landscapes where rural households gather fruits, leaves, grasses, fungi, resins and medicinal plants for subsistence and income. Two literatures have grown largely in parallel: one on the effects of fire on plant diversity and regeneration, and another on the ecological sustainability of harvesting non-timber forest products. This critical narrative review brings them together to examine how anthropogenic fire affects floral diversity and the resource base of non-timber forest products, to explain why published findings disagree, and to identify defensible priorities for research and management. Literature published between January 1990 and July 2026 was identified through searches of multidisciplinary scholarly indexes, an agricultural bibliographic database, institutional sources and backward and forward citation tracking, and was appraised for design, replication, scale and relevance. The evidence converges on a conditional conclusion. Fire frequency, rather than the presence of fire per se, is the attribute most consistently associated with change: frequent dry-season burning in seasonally dry and humid tropical forests tends to reduce tree diversity, suppress sapling recruitment and favour fire-tolerant resprouters, whereas low or intermediate frequencies are often associated with equal or higher diversity, particularly in the herbaceous layer and in savanna-like systems. Effects on non-timber forest products are product-specific and frequently opposite in sign over different time horizons. Burning can raise short-term yields of grasses, essential-oil crops and some fungi while reducing recruitment of fruit-bearing trees and interacting with harvest, grazing and plant invasions in ways that single-factor studies cannot detect. Confidence is limited by the predominance of short-term, space-for-time and single-site studies, inconsistent definitions of fire regime attributes and scarce demographic data for most traded species. The review argues that management should move from blanket fire suppression towards regime-specific, co-designed fire management that accounts for product life history and interacting disturbances, and it proposes long-term demographic, experimental and participatory research to test this approach.

Floristic Diversity in India: Ecological Importance, Assessment, Threats and Conservation Strategies

2026-10-13T13:18:17+00:00

Floristic diversity is central to terrestrial ecosystem structure and functioning and contributes to biodiversity conservation, environmental regulation, and human well-being. India encompasses diverse vegetation types across tropical forests, Himalayan landscapes, mangroves, wetlands, grasslands, and arid regions. This review synthesises the ecological and socio-economic importance of India's floristic diversity, approaches to its documentation and quantitative assessment, major pressures affecting plant communities, and relevant conservation strategies. It outlines the use of field inventories, herbarium records, quadrat and transect sampling, phytosociological parameters, and diversity indices to characterise species composition, abundance, and distribution. The review also considers the complementary roles of geographic information systems, remote sensing, DNA barcoding, and digital biodiversity databases in species identification, vegetation mapping, and monitoring. Climatic conditions, soils, topography, biotic interactions, and human activities influence floristic patterns across ecosystems. Habitat loss and fragmentation, invasive alien plants, forest fires, climate change, and unsustainable resource extraction remain important conservation concerns. In situ and ex situ conservation, ecological restoration, sustainable forest management, and participation by local communities are discussed as complementary responses. The review identifies persistent gaps in geographical survey coverage, long-term vegetation monitoring, and the integration of conventional and emerging assessment techniques, particularly in parts of Central India. More consistent floristic documentation and coordinated conservation planning are needed to inform the sustainable management of India's plant diversity.