UNDERSTANDING THE LANDSCAPE CONFIGURATION FOR CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT PLANNING IN THE INDIAN HIMALAYAN REGION

Changing Land use and its effects on natural habitats have been a significant concern in these recent years. In the present book, we have tried to understand the LULC changes that took place in the region between 2008 to 2018 to understand the rate of gain or loss of a particular natural or artificial cover. Further, the book also attempts to understand the role of landscape heterogeneity, which might also influence wild fauna, related to the patch number, size, spatial arrangement, and contrast between the neighboring patches. Our finding suggests an exponential decrease in ranging with an increase in patches. As a result, of the level of fragmentation that took place in the concerned area, we used habitat fragmentation quantification to quantify the complex spatial processes for monitoring a particular landscape. The present study has used different metrics to show the region’s landscape dynamics, which further helped me to generate some maps with the help of the radius of gyration. The findings of our present study suggest a decline in timberline and open shrublands. In contrast, an increase in savannas and croplands has created a fragile topography for the survival of the animals of a specific habitat. Further continuation of this can cause permanent extinction if not idealizing for some management activities.