Over-Exploitation of Forests: A Case Study from North East India (SpringerBriefs in Geography)

North east India is a global biodiversity hotspot but a quite understudied area. Forest loss has always been problematic in the area. Using Landsat satellite data from three periods (70s, 80s/90s and 2010s), forest loss is assessed in sample protected areas and other sites in the study area, processing is undertaken using image processing and standard GIS tools. The landscape metrics of selected sites are assessed using the widely used program FRAGSTATS. Drivers of forest loss are central in the discussion of the study. North east India is a global biodiversity hotspot but a quite understudied area. Forest loss has always been problematic in the area. Using Landsat satellite data from three periods (70s, 80s/90s and 2010s), forest loss is assessed in sample protected areas and other sites in the study area. Processing is undertaken using image processing and standard GIS tools. The landscape metrics of select sites are assessed using the widely used program Fragstats. The central discussion of the study involves the drivers of forest loss. Front Matter....Pages i-viii Introduction....Pages 1-5 The Study Area....Pages 7-17 Conceptualizing Drivers of Forest Loss....Pages 19-24 Data and Methods....Pages 25-28 Land-Use Land-Cover Change....Pages 29-52 Landscape Metrics....Pages 53-60 Drivers of Forest Loss....Pages 61-66 Conclusions....Pages 67-72