Impact of Land Use and Land Cover Changes on the Remnant Patches of Kondapalli Reserve Forest

Abstract

Despite its reserve status as forest, the Kondapalli Reserve Forest (KRF) of the Eastern Ghats, India has been severely interfered. The present research is aimed at evaluating changes in land use and coverage in and around KRF using time satellite data. The present analysis indicates that from 1990 to 2015 the forest cover has declined considerably; data indicate that tremendous urban extensions and improvements across KRF were observed from 2017. This rise is related to the population development and thus uses property for the essential needs of the people. The land use rate and the soil absorption ratio were determined to determine the pace of human growth in the area. Around 1990 and 2017, the findings of this study revealed a steady increase of the built-up land and a decline of the forest class from 1990 to 2015. In addition, the study forecast that the new capital city of Amaravati will have a negative impact on the KRF and proposed that the conservation measures for its current deforestation and degradation trends should be adequate.