Forest Degradation and Landscape Transformation in the Pench–Navegaon–Nagzira Wildlife Corridor, Central India: A Multi-Decadal Land Use Land Cover Analysis (2004–2024)
Atul R. Deokar
*
Department of Environmental Science, Sevadal Mahila Mahavidyalay, (PHLR), Nagpur, RTM University Nagpur, India and Divisional Forest Officer, NNTR, Gondia, Forest Department, Government of Maharashtra, India.
Pravin U. Meshram
Department of Environmental Science, Sevadal Mahila Mahavidyalaya, Nagpur, RTM University Nagpur, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
This study assessed land use and land cover (LULC) change in the Pench–Navegaon–Nagzira wildlife corridor of central India over a 20-year period from 2004 to 2024. The corridor links the Pench Tiger Reserve and the Navegaon–Nagzira Tiger Reserve and is important for maintaining wildlife movement and habitat continuity in a human-modified landscape. Multi-temporal Landsat satellite imagery was classified using supervised maximum likelihood classification, followed by post-classification comparison and transition matrix analysis. The study area covered 593.14 km². Deciduous forest was the dominant land-cover class in both periods but declined from 373.25 km² in 2004 to 328.07 km² in 2024, representing a net reduction of 45.18 km². Cropped land remained comparatively stable, increasing slightly from 169.16 km² to 169.82 km². The most prominent transition was from deciduous forest to scrub forest, covering 23.75 km², indicating forest degradation and canopy thinning rather than complete conversion to built-up land. Other major transitions included deciduous forest to reservoirs/tanks (15.59 km²), cropped land to reservoirs/tanks (7.43 km²), deciduous forest to cropped land (5.40 km²), and lake ponds to cropped land (2.37 km²). Reservoirs/tanks increased substantially from 3.79 km² to 32.99 km², while lake ponds and river/stream classes declined. Built-up and industrial classes showed limited but ecologically relevant expansion. Overall, the results indicate that the corridor is shifting from a forest-dominated landscape towards a more fragmented agro-forest-water mosaic, with increasing pressure on habitat quality, forest continuity and functional connectivity.
Keywords: Forest degradation, wildlife corridor, land use and land cover, landscape transformation, habitat connectivity, Pench Tiger Reserve, Navegaon–Nagzira Tiger Reserve, central India, remote sensing, post-classification comparison, deciduous forest, forest fragmentation