Exploring Environmental Impact: Assessing Land Cover Dynamics in Rupandehi District Using Remote Sensing Techniques

Exploring Environmental Impact: Assessing Land Cover Dynamics in Rupandehi District Using Remote Sensing Techniques | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Exploring Environmental Impact: Assessing Land Cover Dynamics in Rupandehi District Using Remote Sensing Techniques Hritik Bhattarai, Vivek Dumre This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3998399/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Land use and cover are crucial in preserving and managing Earth's natural resources. Various factors, such as economic, demographic, social, cultural, technological, and environmental processes, contribute to land use and cover changes (LULC). Rupandehi District is significantly influenced by a combination of driving forces, including its geographical location, rapid population growth, economic opportunities, globalization, tourism activities, and political events. Urbanization and urban growth in the region have been unplanned, with internal migration and natural population growth being the primary contributors. Internal migration, particularly from neighboring districts in the higher and lower Himalayan regions, has been high, leading to increased population growth and density. This study utilizes geospatial technology, specifically Geographic Information System (GIS), to analyze and illustrate the land cover and land use changes in the Rupandehi district for 2009 and 2019, using freely available Landsat images. The land cover categories include Built-up Area, Cropland, Das-gaja, Forest, Grassland, Other woodland, Riverbed, and Water. The statistical analysis of the data over the 10-year period (2009–2019) reveals significant percentage changes in LULC. Notably, Das-Gaja shows a minimal change of 99.9%, while Water and Forest exhibit increases of 34.5% and 98.6%, respectively. Riverbed and Built-Up Areas experience changes of 95.3% and 39.6%, respectively. Cropland and Grassland, however, show concerning decreases of 102.6% and 140.0%, respectively. Other woodland also indicates a change of 50.6%. The most noteworthy trends are the substantial increase in water and built-up areas, leading to agricultural and open space degradation. This emphasizes the urgent need for effective urban planning activities to ensure sustainable city development. While Das-Gaja seems unaffected, the decreasing trends in Cropland and Grassland, accompanied by the increasing Built-up areas, are unsatisfactory. It is imperative for relevant authorities to be aware of these trends and implement proactive measures for sustainable urban development. Landuse and landcover Geospatial Urbanization Geographic Information System Sustainable urban development Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-3998399","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":276175027,"identity":"1cb85ded-d8ca-4b46-9921-cd01201eda17","order_by":0,"name":"Hritik Bhattarai","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABEElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACAwbGBoaEAwcSoHyJen4QlVCAV0tjA1gLGzNYS4JkA0iLAT4tIGsQWoCKD0DFcQFz6cPtDx6cuZPHP7//4OeKGos84/OrEz88MGCQ5xc7gFWLZV8i0GE3nhVLHGNmljxzTKLY7MbbzRJAhxnOnJ2AVYvBGZBfPhxObDjGzCDZwCbBuO3G2Q0gLQkGtwlomQ+05WfDPwnGzTPObv5BWMuNw4kbjjGzSTa2SSRu4O/dRtCWGQlnniVuPJZsZtnYJ2EscYN3m0WCgQQev7A/+Pjj2J3EeYcPPr7Z8K1Ojr//7OabPyps5PmlsWvBAiTAKiWIVQ4C/AdIUT0KRsEoGAUjAAAA9q9u7YjY0eQAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Kathmandu University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hritik","middleName":"","lastName":"Bhattarai","suffix":""},{"id":276175028,"identity":"dc0c7a7c-538e-4a33-b9c7-bbe30f576378","order_by":1,"name":"Vivek Dumre","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Kathmandu University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Vivek","middleName":"","lastName":"Dumre","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-02-29 03:45:53","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3998399/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3998399/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":53037925,"identity":"9926080b-3530-45ae-8a84-8f9fa7767e19","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-03-19 22:52:34","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":877872,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"LUPArticle.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3998399/v1_covered_77ea1550-27c1-40e2-a781-38e48872c60e.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Exploring Environmental Impact: Assessing Land Cover Dynamics in Rupandehi District Using Remote Sensing Techniques","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Landuse and landcover, Geospatial, Urbanization, Geographic Information System, Sustainable urban development","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3998399/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3998399/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eLand use and cover are crucial in preserving and managing Earth's natural resources. Various factors, such as economic, demographic, social, cultural, technological, and environmental processes, contribute to land use and cover changes (LULC). Rupandehi District is significantly influenced by a combination of driving forces, including its geographical location, rapid population growth, economic opportunities, globalization, tourism activities, and political events. Urbanization and urban growth in the region have been unplanned, with internal migration and natural population growth being the primary contributors. Internal migration, particularly from neighboring districts in the higher and lower Himalayan regions, has been high, leading to increased population growth and density. This study utilizes geospatial technology, specifically Geographic Information System (GIS), to analyze and illustrate the land cover and land use changes in the Rupandehi district for 2009 and 2019, using freely available Landsat images. The land cover categories include Built-up Area, Cropland, Das-gaja, Forest, Grassland, Other woodland, Riverbed, and Water. The statistical analysis of the data over the 10-year period (2009\u0026ndash;2019) reveals significant percentage changes in LULC. Notably, Das-Gaja shows a minimal change of 99.9%, while Water and Forest exhibit increases of 34.5% and 98.6%, respectively. Riverbed and Built-Up Areas experience changes of 95.3% and 39.6%, respectively. Cropland and Grassland, however, show concerning decreases of 102.6% and 140.0%, respectively. Other woodland also indicates a change of 50.6%. The most noteworthy trends are the substantial increase in water and built-up areas, leading to agricultural and open space degradation. This emphasizes the urgent need for effective urban planning activities to ensure sustainable city development. While Das-Gaja seems unaffected, the decreasing trends in Cropland and Grassland, accompanied by the increasing Built-up areas, are unsatisfactory. It is imperative for relevant authorities to be aware of these trends and implement proactive measures for sustainable urban development.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Exploring Environmental Impact: Assessing Land Cover Dynamics in Rupandehi District Using Remote Sensing Techniques","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-03-06 10:05:51","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3998399/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"3ab2afc4-ac3b-4e7c-8604-e1011e8bd663","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 6th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2024-03-19T22:44:20+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2024-03-06 10:05:51","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-3998399","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-3998399","identity":"rs-3998399","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}