Understanding Godavari Mangrove and its Temporal Changes using Geospatial Techniques

Mangroves are most productive tropical formations between land and ocean; contain evergreen forest which protects the coastal soil from erosion and from tidal waves. Godavari mangrove forest is the second largest mangrove forest in India declared as a Wildlife Sanctuary after 1972. These forests have undergone serious alteration due to human activities. The objective of the study is to identify and analyze the temporal changes and impact of human encroachment on the mangroves. Landsat images have been used for landscape mapping and analyzing the temporal changes in the land use and land cover changes. The LANDSAT 8 satellite images have been analyzed to identify the recent changes. The results indicate that there are marked increased in aqua farms, agricultural land and settlement around the forest. Settlement growth is more prominent in the north, western and southern section of the mangrove forest. Godavari mangrove forest has been continued to be destroyed at an alarming rate due to human interference in these areas despite our understanding of the importance of the forest. The result of this study conclude that integrating remote sensing and GIS techniques are efficient to assess the vegetation losses of the coastal area and its adverse impact on human and entire ecosystem.