Evaluation of the influence of land-use and land-cover changes on ecosystem services in Deepor Beel Ramsar Site using high resolution remote sensing

It is important to assess the rapid land-use/land-cover change (LULCC) and its impact on ecosystem service value (ESV), affecting the socio-economic and climatic stabilization of wetlands. In this study, a multi-resolution image segmentation and k-nearest neighbours algorithm were used for the thematic classification of satellite images of 2003 and 2018 in the Deepor Beel wetland, a lake of international significance. A notable increase in built-up areas was observed from 9.07 to 32.19 sq. km during this period. Proximity analysis in the 500 m buffer from the Deepor Beel boundary revealed an increasing built-up areas in close proximity. The ESV evaluation estimated a net decrease in the monetary value of 4.85 x 10(4) USD of the wetland for the respective years. The study recommends strict demarcation of zones of influence on the ground and regular monitoring of LULCC to protect important wetlands and preserve their ecosystem services.