Assessing the Impact of Domestic Cattle Influx on Grassland Habitat Using Remote Sensing and Soil Physical Parameters: A Study in Manas National Park
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36808/if/2024/v150i7/170238Keywords:
Southern boundary, Bulk density, Ecological successions, Habitat classification, Change transition matrix.Abstract
The anthropogenic activities taking place in an environment have the power to alter the habitat of a particular region. It is very important to understand and identify such threats which allows a researcher to monitor and predict the changes that might occur over a period of time. Manas is home to many endangered and endemic species which are very much dependent on the unique grassland habitat of the region. This paper tries to understand the influx of domestic cattle inside the park in relation to the soil compaction caused due to overgrazing. Physical soil parameters such as Bulk Density, Water content, and Soil porosity are taken into consideration to understand if they have any impact on the vegetation composition of the unique mosaic grassland habitat of Manas National Park. The increase in observation of domestic cattle might be also due to the development of urban structures which has diminished many of the grazing grounds at the periphery of the national parks. A pixel-based classification was carried out using satellite imagery to analyze the change in the habitat for 21 years from 1999 to 2020. The change in classes was calculated with the help of a change transition matrix. Ground truth data and defining land cover were some of the key elements in improving the accuracy assessment of the classified images. The grassland is not homogenous in vegetation and is subjected to size reduction due to many climatic and anthropogenic activity aided by ecological succession, the grazing intensity and the spatial distribution is very well studied in this research. However, with studies like we hope to address some of the problems that can help the grassland habitat to thrive back to its glory. The findings of this research hold significant implications for both the scientific understanding of ecosystems and the practical conservation of a unique habitat. By uncovering the exponential increase of specific land cover types, notably woodland, and mosaic, this study sheds light on the alarming threats posed by ecological succession, climatic changes, and human activities to the delicate grassland habitat of Manas National Park.
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