Citation
Dr. Sachin Ranu Govardhane
Dept of Geography
V.V. Ms S. G. Patil Arts, Science And Commerce College Sakri,
Tal- Sakri Dist- Dhule.
Email Id sachingovardhane@gmail.com
Abstract
Forest
ecosystems in the Satpuda fringe of North Maharashtra are very crucial in
maintaining the ecological stability and tribal livelihoods, but they are
becoming under pressure due to development pressures. The paper evaluates the
change in forest cover and its sustainability development in the Satpuda fringe
in 2015-2025 using a remote sensing and GIS-based methodology. Geometric,
radiometric, and atmospheric corrections were applied to multi-temporal
satellite images of Landsat 8 (2015) and Landsat 9/Sentinel-2 (2025). In ArcGIS
Pro, supervised classification and post-classification change detection methods
were used to measure the change of tehsil-wise forest cover in terms of area
and percentage. The findings indicate a general and geographically imbalanced
decrease in forest cover in the study area. The loss of forest was found to be
significant in Akrani (247.90 sq. km; -19.14%) and Akkalkuwa (109.25 sq. km;
-11.74%), which means that there is a strong pressure in tribal tehsils with a
lot of forest. Other tehsils had moderate declines, with only Raver having a
marginal growth (3.42 sq. km; +0.36%), probably because of local afforestation.
Forest loss spatial distribution is in close relation to population increase,
agricultural activities, and infrastructure. The paper identifies the urgency
to have integrated land-use planning and conservation-based development
policies to achieve long-term sustainability in the ecologically sensitive
Satpuda fringe of North Maharashtra.
Keywords
Forest cover
change; Remote sensing and GIS; Change detection; Sustainable development; Land
use–land cover; Satpuda fringe, North Maharashtra.
Introduction
Forests are
very important in ensuring an ecological balance, rural livelihoods and
sustainable development, especially in socio-economically vulnerable and
environmentally sensitive areas. In India, forested landscapes situated in hill
ranges and tribal belts are becoming more and more strained with the increasing
population, agricultural activities, development of infrastructure, and the
shift in land-use patterns (Behera et al., 2015). The Satpuda Range,
particularly its northern edge into North Maharashtra, including Nandurbar
district, Dhule district and Jalgaon district is one such ecologically
important area. This area is a transitional area whereby thick forest cover is
slowly being replaced by agricultural land and human habitation and is
therefore very vulnerable to forest degradation and loss (Zurqani et al., 2019).
The Satpuda
fringe is typified by topography that is undulating, a forest cover that is
mainly comprised of the deciduous forests and a tribal population that relies
heavily on the forest cover to provide fuelwood, fodder, small forest produce
and subsistence agriculture (Gautam et al., 2002). In the past 10 years, the
traditional land-use patterns have changed due to developmental activities like
road construction, agricultural intensification, expansion of settlements, and
demographic growth (Giriraj et al., 2008). Although these changes are
meant to enhance economic status and infrastructure, they tend to have
unplanned ecological effects, especially the loss and degradation of forest
cover (Bas et al., 2024). The loss of forests in such
areas not only endangers the biodiversity and ecosystem services but also the
very basis of sustainable development as it impacts the water availability,
soil stability, and livelihood security (Kline et al., 2004).
The economic
growth, social well-being, and environmental conservation must be balanced in a
careful manner to achieve sustainable development in the forest-dependent
regions (Mani &
Varghese, 2018).
Nevertheless, this balance is difficult to measure without credible and
spatially explicit information on forest dynamics and association with
development processes (Islomov et al., 2023). In this regard, remote
sensing and GIS methods provide an effective and inexpensive method of tracking
the change in forest cover over time (Stamatopoulos et al., 2024). The satellite-based analysis
can be used to consistently monitor large and inaccessible regions and enable
researchers to measure the loss of forests, spatial dynamics, and correlate
them with socio-economic factors such as population growth and agricultural
development at more specific administrative units like tehsils.
Although
national level statistics on forests are available, localized research on
current changes and development pressures at tehsil level is scarce in the case
of the Satpuda fringe of North Maharashtra (Syamsih, 2024). In response to this gap, the
current paper conducts a remote sensing-based evaluation of the change in
forest cover between 2015 and 2025, a time when the area is experiencing a high
rate of development. The study aims to combine satellite-based forest data with
simple development indicators to gain a better insight into the spatial
distribution of forest loss and its overlap with the ongoing development
processes. The results should be relevant to the regional-level planning by
identifying priority areas in which the development strategies should be more
aligned with the forest conservation and long-term sustainability objectives.
Study
Area
The study site is the Satpuda fringe of North
Maharashtra, which is a region in the south foothills of Satpuda Range. It
covers portions of Nandurbar district, Dhule district and Jalgaon district, and
is a transitional region between forested hills and agricultural plains. The
area is also marked by a topography of undulations, tropical dry deciduous
forests and a majorly tribal population that relies on forest resources. Over
the past years, population growth, agricultural activities, and development of
infrastructure have escalated the pressure on forest areas and thus the Satpuda
fringe is a vital area to understand the issues of forest loss and sustainable
development.
Figure 3 LULC Map of Satpuda fringe of North Maharashtra during 2015–2025 to
show change in forest cover.
Aim
The aim of the study is to assess forest loss and
its implications for sustainable development in the Satpuda fringe of North
Maharashtra by analyzing recent forest cover changes using remote sensing
techniques and examining their relationship with selected development
indicators.
Objectives
·
To assess
changes in forest cover in the Satpuda fringe of North Maharashtra between 2015
and 2025.
·
To identify and
analyze the spatial patterns of forest loss at the tehsil level within the
study area.
·
To examine the
relationship between forest loss and development indicators, particularly
population growth and agricultural expansion.
·
To evaluate the
implications of forest loss for sustainable development.
Methodology
and Database
The current
research uses a remote sensing and GIS-based approach to evaluate the change in
forest cover and its effects on sustainable development in the Satpuda fringe
of North Maharashtra. The decadal changes in the forest cover were analyzed
using multi-temporal satellite data of 2015 and 2025 on the tehsil level.
Available sources of cloud-free satellite images of NASA included Landsat 8
(OLI) in 2015 and Landsat 9 (OLI-2) or Sentinel-2 in 2025. The images were
geometrically fixed, radiometrically fixed, and atmospherically fixed to make
them comparable over time. With the assistance of visual interpretation and
available forest cover maps, supervised classification methods were used to
classify forest and non-forest classes. Post-classification comparison was used
to measure change in forest area (sq. km and percent) in the two reference
years.
The ArcGIS
Pro software was used to perform spatial analysis to compute the tehsil-wise
forest cover statistics and to determine the spatial patterns of forest loss.
The data on tehsil boundaries were collected through SOI official sources of
administration and superimposed on the classified forest maps to derive
information on areas. These datasets were combined with spatial outputs in
order to understand development-based pressures on forest resources. The
integration of satellite imagery, GIS-based spatial analysis, and secondary
statistical data will be a strong database to assess forest loss and its impact
on sustainable development in the Satpuda fringe of North Maharashtra.
Table 1 Spatial analysis of Forest cover area in the Satpuda fringe of North Maharashtra
|
Year |
2015 |
2025 |
Change Detection |
|||||
|
Tehsil |
Area (Sq.km) |
Area (%) |
Area (Sq.km) |
Area (%) |
Decrease Area (Sq.km) |
Increase Area (Sq.km) |
Decrease Area (%) |
Increase Area (%) |
|
Akkalkuwa |
521.474 |
56.04 |
412.227 |
44.30 |
109.247 |
-- |
11.74 |
-- |
|
Akrani |
1060.541 |
81.90 |
812.644 |
62.75 |
247.897 |
-- |
19.14 |
-- |
|
Taloda |
99.426 |
21.87 |
91.020 |
20.02 |
8.405 |
-- |
1.85 |
-- |
|
Shahada |
111.620 |
9.45 |
103.346 |
8.75 |
8.274 |
-- |
0.70 |
-- |
|
Shirpur |
363.556 |
24.11 |
337.167 |
22.36 |
26.389 |
-- |
1.75 |
-- |
|
Chopda |
361.092 |
31.36 |
356.755 |
30.99 |
4.337 |
-- |
0.38 |
-- |
|
Yaval |
306.460 |
33.11 |
288.430 |
31.16 |
18.030 |
-- |
1.95 |
-- |
|
Raver |
317.361 |
33.78 |
320.784 |
34.14 |
-- |
3.424 |
-- |
0.36 |
(Source: Calculated by
researcher using ArcGIS Pro change detection analysis)
Figure 1 Tehsil-wise forest cover area in the Satpuda fringe of North
Maharashtra for the years 2015 and 2025
Figure 2 Tehsil-wise percentage change in forest cover in the Satpuda fringe of
North Maharashtra during 2015–2025.
Results
The dynamic
analysis of the forest cover in the Satpuda fringe of North Maharashtra in the
year 2015 and 2025 shows a clear and spatially uneven trend of forest loss at
the level of the tehsil (Table 1). In general, the absolute forest area (sq.
km) and proportional forest cover (%) decreased in most tehsils, which
indicates continuous pressure on forest resources in the decade.
The greatest
absolute and relative loss is seen in the tribal and forested tehsils of Akrani
and Akkalkuwa which comprise the largest share of Forest loss. Akrani
documented a decline of 247.90 sq. km, which is equivalent to 19.14% decline in
forest cover, and Akkalkuwa lost 109.25 sq. km (11.74%). Such losses suggest
that there has been massive deterioration in regions that were once able to
sustain thick forest cover. Conversely, tehsils like Taloda, Shahada, Shirpur,
Chopda and Yaval have had a relatively moderate loss of between 0.38 percent to
1.95 percent, but the trend is always negative.
Spatially,
loss of forests is higher in the north and northeast of the study area that
borders the core Satpuda ranges (Akrani and Akkalkuwa), which implies increased
anthropogenic pressure in ecologically sensitive areas. The tehsils of central
and southern parts like Chopda and Shahada experience relatively low forest
loss, indicating the lack of forest or comparatively high control of land-use
change. The overall downward trend is broken by a slight increase of 3.42 sq.
km (0.36%) in Raver, which has been due to afforestation efforts and plantation
growth in the satellite-based data.
The high
rate of forest loss in Akrani and Akkalkuwa is aligned to areas where there is
increase in population, development of infrastructure and transformation of
forest land into agricultural lands (Defries et al., 2010). The increase of subsistence
and commercial agriculture, along with the increase of settlements, seems to be
a major cause of forest depletion (Richards, 2015). Intensive agricultural
development and irrigation in the Tehsils, including Yaval and Shirpur, also
depict the observable forest decline, which further confirms the connection
between the land-use change and the development processes (Ayele et al., 2019).
The
witnessed reduction in forest cover is a major threat to sustainable
development within the Satpuda fringe. Deforestation poses a threat to
biodiversity, ecosystem services, and livelihood security of tribal communities
that rely on forest resources. Although there are only positive changes in
Raver, which indicate that it is possible to achieve positive results with the
help of specific interventions, the overall trend shows that more integrated
land-use planning, more robust forest protection, and more balanced economic
growth and ecology should be developed. Overall, the findings indicate that
forest loss within the Satpuda fringe between 2015-2025 is spatially clustered,
development pressures are closely associated, and the outcomes have important long-term
sustainable development implications in North Maharashtra.
Discussion
This
research paper indicates that there has been a consistent decrease in the
forest cover in the Satpuda fringe of North Maharashtra between 2015 and 2025,
which is indicative of larger trends of land-use change in ecologically
sensitive areas in India. The scale and geographical diversity of the forest
loss experienced at the tehsil level highlight the interplay between the
environmental resources and development pressures.
The intense
deforestation of the Akrani and Akkalkuwa tehsils is especially important since
these regions traditionally form the very heart of the forested and
tribal-controlled terrain of the Satpuda ranges. These tehsils were susceptible
to absolute losses as development pressures increased in 2015 due to a high
initial forest cover. Agricultural expansion, fuelwood harvesting and
infrastructure development particularly road connectivity and settlement
expansion seem to be the major causes of deforestation in these areas (Lele & Joshi, 2008). Conversely, tehsils with
relatively lower forest cover to start with like Chopda and Shahada had minimal
change, which indicates that the availability of forests itself limits the
extent of further loss (Bone et al., 2016).
The
witnessed reduction in forest cover is directly linked with population increase
and agricultural development especially in tehsils where subsistence farming
and irrigated agriculture has encroached into marginal forest areas (Mulatu et al., 2025). Forest clearance in tribal
tehsils to cultivate, build houses and other related activities is a
manifestation of livelihood-driven land-use change and not industrial-scale
deforestation. But this slow and diffused conversion has cumulative effects
which are also of the first importance. The decline in forest cover in tehsils
like Shirpur and Yaval also lends credence to the point that agricultural
intensification and better irrigation infrastructure are some of the factors
that lead to forest-to-agriculture conversion (Ali &
Benjaminsen, 2004).
Sustainable
development wise, the further depletion of forest cover is a cause of concern
in terms of stability in the ecosystem, biodiversity protection and climate
stability. The degradation of forests in the Satpuda fringe poses a threat to
the important ecosystem services that include soil conservation, groundwater
recharge, and the local climate regulation (Móstiga et al., 2024). To tribal communities, the
reduced forest resources have a direct impact on food security, availability of
non-timber forest products and the traditional livelihood systems. The fact
that the percentage change in forest cover in Raver tehsil was positive
indicates that afforestation efforts or plantation work or better forest
management can produce positive results, but the magnitude of this improvement
is very small.
The results
highlight the importance of combined and region-specific land-use planning that
balances the development goals with the conservation of the ecological
environment (Rahma Febriyanti et al., 2022). Enhancing community-based
forest management, agroforestry, and controlling agricultural activities on
slopes covered with forests may reduce the loss further (Jeon et
al., 2013). Also,
remote sensing-based monitoring, as the one used in this study, is an efficient
instrument of tracking forest dynamics and evidence-based policy-making.
Although the
study is effective in capturing decadal cover changes in forests through the
satellite data, it fails to capture all qualitative factors of the forests
including forest degradation, fragmentation or species composition. Future
studies are encouraged to combine socio-economic data, field data and longer
time series data to capture the causes and effects of forest loss. The
association of forest change with specific development indicators would also
enhance the sustainability assessment of the Satpuda fringe. On the whole, the
discussion highlights the fact that the loss of forests in the Satpuda fringe
of North Maharashtra is not only an environmental problem but also a
development problem that requires balanced, inclusive and sustainable planning
strategies.
Conclusion
The current
research gives a clear evaluation of the change in forest cover in the Satpuda
fringe of North Maharashtra between 2015 and 2025 through a remote sensing
method. The findings show that there is a general decrease in the forest cover
in most of the tehsils, and especially in the areas of Akrani and Akkalkuwa,
where there are severe losses, which point to these areas as the zones of the
critical ecological exposure. The spatial analysis proves that the loss of
forests is not evenly distributed and is closely associated with the local
development processes.
The results
show that forest depletion is strongly correlated with the indicators of
development like population growth, agricultural expansion, and infrastructure
development. Although these processes have led to socio-economic enhancement,
they have also increased the strain on the forest ecosystems, particularly in
tribal dominated and forest endowed tehsils (Chettri et al., 2007). The fact that the marginal
increase in forest cover in Raver tehsil was observed indicates that specific
conservation initiatives, afforestation efforts, and proper land management can
have positive results, yet these efforts are not widespread in the area (Clark et al., 2021).
In terms of
sustainable development, further loss of forests is a major threat to the
conservation of biodiversity, ecosystems, and livelihood security of
communities that rely on forests. The research highlights the importance of
considering the environment in the planning of regional development. The
community-based forest management, agro forestry practices and controlled land
use change policies are necessary to balance the development requirements with
the ecological sustainability.
To sum up,
remote sensing is a useful and trustworthy means of monitoring forest dynamics
and helping to make informed decisions. The development strategies in the
Satpuda fringe of North Maharashtra should not be focused on short-term
economic benefits, but should be integrated to ensure that forest resources are
protected and at the same time, the socio-economic needs are met to ensure
long-term sustainability.
References
1.
Ali, J., & Benjaminsen, T. A. (2004).
Fuelwood, Timber and Deforestation in the Himalayas. Mountain Research and
Development, 24(4), 312–318. https://doi.org/10.1659/0276-4741(2004)024[0312:ftadit]2.0.co;2
2.
Ayele, G., Hayicho, H., & Alemu, M.
(2019). Land Use Land Cover Change Detection and Deforestation Modeling: In
Delomena District of Bale Zone, Ethiopia. Journal of Environmental Protection,
10(04), 532–561. https://doi.org/10.4236/jep.2019.104031
3.
Bas, T. G., Sáez, M. L., & Sáez, N.
(2024). Sustainable Development versus Extractivist Deforestation in Tropical,
Subtropical, and Boreal Forest Ecosystems: Repercussions and Controversies
about the Mother Tree and the Mycorrhizal Network Hypothesis. Plants, 13(9),
1231. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13091231
4.
Behera, R. N., Nayak, D. K., Andersen, P.,
&Måren, I. E. (2015). From jhum to broom: Agricultural land-use change and
food security implications on the Meghalaya Plateau, India. Ambio, 45(1),
63–77. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-015-0691-3
5.
Bone, R. A., Parks, K. E., Hudson, M. D.,
Tsirinzeni, M., & Willcock, S. (2016). Deforestation since independence: a
quantitative assessment of four decades of land-cover change in Malawi.
Southern Forests: A Journal of Forest Science, 79(4), 269–275. https://doi.org/10.2989/20702620.2016.1233777
6.
Chettri, N., Sharma, E., Shakya, B., &
Bajracharya, B. (2007). Developing Forested Conservation Corridors in the
Kangchenjunga Landscape, Eastern Himalaya. Mountain Research and Development,
27(3), 211–214. https://doi.org/10.1659/mrd.0923
7.
Clark, B., Defries, R., &
Krishnaswamy, J. (2021). India’s Commitments to Increase Tree and Forest Cover:
Consequences for Water Supply and Agriculture Production within the Central
Indian Highlands. Water, 13(7), 959. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13070959
8.
Defries, R. S., Rudel, T., Uriarte, M.,
& Hansen, M. (2010). Deforestation driven by urban population growth and
agricultural trade in the twenty-first century. Nature Geoscience, 3(3),
178–181. https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo756
9.
Gautam, A. P., Webb, E. L., &Eiumnoh,
A. (2002). GIS Assessment of Land Use/Land Cover Changes Associated with
Community Forestry Implementation in the Middle Hills of Nepal. Mountain
Research and Development, 22(1), 63–69. https://doi.org/10.1659/0276-4741(2002)022[0063:
gaolul]2.0.co;2
10.
Giriraj, A., Irfan-Ullah, M., Murthy, M.
S. R., &Beierkuhnlein, C. (2008). Modelling Spatial and Temporal Forest
Cover Change Patterns (1973-2020): A Case Study from South Western Ghats
(India). Sensors (Basel, Switzerland), 8(10), 6132–6153. https://doi.org/10.3390/s8106132
11.
Islomov, S., Aslanov, I., Shamuratova, G.,
Jumanov, A., Allanazarov, K., Daljanov, Q., Tursinov, M., &Karimbaev, Q.
(2023). Monitoring of Land and Forest Cover Change Dynamics Using Remote
Sensing and GIS in Mountains and Foothill of Zaamin, Uzbekistan (pp.
1908–1914). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21219-2_212
12.
Lele, N., & Joshi, P. K. (2008).
Analyzing deforestation rates, spatial forest cover changes and identifying
critical areas of forest cover changes in North-East India during 1972–1999.
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 156(1–4), 159–170. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-008-0472-6
13.
Mani, J. K., & Varghese, A. O. (2018).
Remote Sensing and GIS in Agriculture and Forest Resource Monitoring (pp.
377–400). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78711-4_19
14.
Móstiga, M., Armenteras, D., Vayreda, J.,
& Retana, J. (2024). Two decades of accelerated deforestation in Peruvian
forests: a national and regional analysis (2000–2020). Regional Environmental
Change, 24(2). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-024-02189-5
15.
Mulatu, K., Hundera, K., &Senbeta, F.
(2025). Analysis of Forest Cover Change in the Southwest Ethiopia: Key Drivers,
Impacts, and Conservation Implications. International Journal of Forestry
Research, 2025(1). https://doi.org/10.1155/ijfr/5523008
16.
Rahma Febriyanti, A., Tri Ratnasari, R.,
&Wardhana, A. K. (2022). The Effect of Economic Growth, Agricultural Land,
and Trade Openness Moderated by Population Density on Deforestation in OIC
Countries. Quantitative Economics and Management Studies, 3(2), 221–234. https://doi.org/10.35877/454ri.qems828
17.
Richards, P. (2015). What Drives Indirect
Land Use Change? How Brazil’s Agriculture Sector Influences Frontier
Deforestation. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 105(5),
1026–1040. https://doi.org/10.1080/00045608.2015.1060924
18.
Stamatopoulos, I., Le, T. C., & Daver,
F. (2024). UAV-assisted seeding and monitoring of reforestation sites: a
review. Australian Forestry, 87(2), 90–98. https://doi.org/10.1080/00049158.2024.2343516
19.
Syamsih, D. (2024). Impacts of
Deforestation on Soil Quality and Water Resources in Tropical Forest Areas of
Sumatra. Journal of Horizon, 1(1), 16–22. https://doi.org/10.62872/kvmcwq82
20.
Zurqani, H. A., Post, C. J., Mikhailova,
E. A., & Allen, J. S. (2019). Mapping Urbanization Trends in a Forested
Landscape Using Google Earth Engine. Remote Sensing in Earth Systems Sciences,
2(4), 173–182. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41976-019-00020-y
