STUDY OF CHANGE IN LAND USE / LAND COVER OF NEIL ISLAND IN ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS

Abstract

This study carries out the change in the land use land cover of Neil Island during the years 2003 and 2009 using Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS). Survey of India (SOI) toposheet (1970), Orthorectified Landsat ETM 2003 satellite images and IRS – P6 LISS III (2009) imageries were used during this study. Land use categories such as Forest, Mangroves, Coral , Built-up area and Sandy beaches were mapped during this study, and found out that Forest cover and sandy beach has decreased by 1.225% and 0.565% respectively and built-up land has increased by 1.225% from the year 2003 to 2009 which indicates human interference in natural habitat.