Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Kashmir, Hazratbal, Srinagar, Kashmir, 190006, India.
Environ Monit Assess. 2013 Aug;185(8):6419-45. doi: 10.1007/s10661-012-3035-9. Epub 2013 Jan 5.
Dal Lake, a cradle of Kashmiri civilization has strong linkage with socioeconomics of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. During last few decades, anthropogenic pressures in Dal Lake Catchment have caused environmental deterioration impairing, inter-alia, sustained biotic communities and water quality. The present research was an integrated impact analysis of socioeconomic and biophysical processes at the watershed level on the current status of Dal Lake using multi-sensor and multi-temporal satellite data, simulation modelling together with field data verification. Thirteen watersheds (designated as 'W1-W13') were identified and investigated for land use/land cover change detection, quantification of erosion and sediment loads and socioeconomic analysis (total population, total households, literacy rate and economic development status). All the data for the respective watersheds was integrated into the GIS environment based upon multi-criteria analysis and knowledge-based weightage system was adopted for watershed prioritization based on its factors and after carefully observing the field situation. The land use/land cover change detection revealed significant changes with a uniform trend of decreased vegetation and increased impervious surface cover. Increased erosion and sediment loadings were recorded for the watersheds corresponding to their changing land systems, with bare and agriculture lands being the major contributors. The prioritization analysis revealed that W5 > W2 > W6 > W8 > W1 ranked highest in priority and W13 > W3 > W4 > W11 > W7 under medium priority. W12 > W9 > W10 belonged to low-priority category. The integration of the biophysical and the socioeconomic environment at the watershed level using modern geospatial tools would be of vital importance for the conservation and management strategies of Dal Lake ecosystem.
达尔湖是克什米尔文明的摇篮，与查谟和克什米尔邦的社会经济有着密切的联系。在过去的几十年中，达尔湖集水区的人为压力导致了环境恶化，除其他外，还破坏了持续的生物群落和水质。本研究采用多传感器和多时相卫星数据、模拟模型以及现场数据验证，综合分析了流域尺度上的社会经济和生物物理过程对达尔湖现状的影响。确定并调查了 13 个流域（指定为“W1-W13”），以进行土地利用/土地覆盖变化检测、侵蚀和泥沙负荷的量化以及社会经济分析（总人口、总户数、识字率和经济发展状况）。根据多准则分析将所有流域的数据集成到 GIS 环境中，并采用基于知识的权重系统根据其因素对流域进行优先排序，并在仔细观察现场情况后进行。土地利用/土地覆盖变化检测显示出显著变化，植被减少和不透水面覆盖增加的趋势一致。与不断变化的土地系统相对应的流域记录了侵蚀和泥沙负荷的增加，裸地和农业用地是主要贡献者。优先排序分析显示，W5＞W2＞W6＞W8＞W1 排名最高，W13＞W3＞W4＞W11＞W7 属于中等优先级。W12＞W9＞W10 属于低优先级类别。利用现代地理空间工具整合流域层面的生物物理和社会经济环境对于达尔湖生态系统的保护和管理策略至关重要。
