First cycle of Land degradation mapping on 1:50,000 scale for entire Country was carried out by visual interpretation of IRS LISS-III satellite data of 2005-06 ( Kharif (Aug–Nov), Rabi (Jan- Mar), Zaid (April- May) seasons) with limited ground truth and soil chemical analysis. Land degradation maps were prepared depicting 8 land degradation processes sub-categorized in to 36 classes (Three tier classification considering land degradation process, type and severity). Soil erosion (water & wind), salt affected and water logged area maps of 2005-06 were hosted on Bhuvan. An area of 91 M ha is estimated to be under land degradation (27.7 % TGA) in India. Nearly 80% of land degradation is caused by water erosion followed by wind erosion, salinization and waterlogging.
Erosion maps (2005-06) and Salt affected and water logging are hosted on
The second cycle of land degradation mapping with Multi-temporal Resourcesat LISS-III satellite data acquired during 2016-17 is in progress which is to monitor the land degradation changes within last 10 years in the country. Ground truth is being collected through mobile application that can enable visualization on Bhuvan.
Land degradation maps will be useful for prioritization of watersheds for treatment, planning soil conservation and reclamation programmes at district level, monitoring the reclamation efforts, environmental and climate change studies, preparation of action plan maps for land degradation neutrality, facilitates to identify areas of rapid change (hot spots).
