Abstract:
Sagar Island, located in Sundarbans deltoid complex (West Bengal), was
subjected to a study on geomorphological, land use, land cover and coastal
vegetation changes, using IRS IC LISS III satellite data pertaining to 1996,
1998 and 1999 . The study has shown that considerable changes has taken
place in the geomorphology of Sagar Island . The landmass of the island has
eroded by 17 km' and accreted by 0 .48 km'- from 1996 to 1999 . The erosion
rate was 6 .82 km' per year during 1996-98, which reduced to 3 .26 km'- per
year to 1998-99 . This may be due to construction of brick walls at erosion
zones and increment in area of coastal vegetation . The area of coastal
vegetation was 7 .4 km- in 1996 and 8 .5 km' in 1999 The health of coastal
vegetation as indicated by Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)
was also found to he better in 1999 (0 .4-0 .56) when compared to that in 1996
(0 .2-0 .4) . The agricultural lands reduced by 16 knm'-during the same period
due to increased human settlement.
