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In the HKH region, large areas in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan get inundated by floodwater during every rainy season. Among them, Bangladesh has been experiencing record-high floods where four types prevail: flash flood, local rainfall flood, monsoon river flood, and storm-surge flood; and these occur almost every year due to Bangladesh’s unique geographical setting as the most downstream country in the HKH region.
Kabir Uddin; Mir A. Matin; Rajesh Bahadur Thapa. Rapid Flood Mapping Using Multi-temporal SAR Images: An Example from Bangladesh. Earth Observation Science and Applications for Risk Reduction and Enhanced Resilience in Hindu Kush Himalaya Region 2021, 201 -210.
AMA StyleKabir Uddin, Mir A. Matin, Rajesh Bahadur Thapa. Rapid Flood Mapping Using Multi-temporal SAR Images: An Example from Bangladesh. Earth Observation Science and Applications for Risk Reduction and Enhanced Resilience in Hindu Kush Himalaya Region. 2021; ():201-210.
Chicago/Turabian StyleKabir Uddin; Mir A. Matin; Rajesh Bahadur Thapa. 2021. "Rapid Flood Mapping Using Multi-temporal SAR Images: An Example from Bangladesh." Earth Observation Science and Applications for Risk Reduction and Enhanced Resilience in Hindu Kush Himalaya Region , no. : 201-210.
The land cover across the HKH region is changing at an accelerated rate due to the rapid economic growth and population pressures that are impacting the long-term sustainability of ecosystems.
Kabir Uddin; Mir A. Matin; Nishanta Khanal; Sajana Maharjan; Birendra Bajracharya; Karis Tenneson; Ate Poortinga; Nguyen Hanh Quyen; Raja Ram Aryal; David Saah; Walter Lee Ellenburg; Peter Potapov; Africa Flores-Anderson; Farrukh Chishtie; Khun San Aung; Timothy Mayer; Sudip Pradhan; Amanda Markert. Regional Land Cover Monitoring System for Hindu Kush Himalaya. Earth Observation Science and Applications for Risk Reduction and Enhanced Resilience in Hindu Kush Himalaya Region 2021, 103 -125.
AMA StyleKabir Uddin, Mir A. Matin, Nishanta Khanal, Sajana Maharjan, Birendra Bajracharya, Karis Tenneson, Ate Poortinga, Nguyen Hanh Quyen, Raja Ram Aryal, David Saah, Walter Lee Ellenburg, Peter Potapov, Africa Flores-Anderson, Farrukh Chishtie, Khun San Aung, Timothy Mayer, Sudip Pradhan, Amanda Markert. Regional Land Cover Monitoring System for Hindu Kush Himalaya. Earth Observation Science and Applications for Risk Reduction and Enhanced Resilience in Hindu Kush Himalaya Region. 2021; ():103-125.
Chicago/Turabian StyleKabir Uddin; Mir A. Matin; Nishanta Khanal; Sajana Maharjan; Birendra Bajracharya; Karis Tenneson; Ate Poortinga; Nguyen Hanh Quyen; Raja Ram Aryal; David Saah; Walter Lee Ellenburg; Peter Potapov; Africa Flores-Anderson; Farrukh Chishtie; Khun San Aung; Timothy Mayer; Sudip Pradhan; Amanda Markert. 2021. "Regional Land Cover Monitoring System for Hindu Kush Himalaya." Earth Observation Science and Applications for Risk Reduction and Enhanced Resilience in Hindu Kush Himalaya Region , no. : 103-125.
Low-lying Bangladesh is known as one of the most flood-prone countries in the world. During the last few decades, the frequency, intensity, and duration of floods have increased. To ensure safety and save lives when people's homes submerge because of flooding, it is urgent to relocate them to safe shelters during the flooding. In Bangladesh, the number of designated flood shelters is very less. To plan and prioritise the building of shelters, flood hazard zonation and the identification of suitable locations for shelters are vital for disaster risk mitigation. This study attempted the first and most extensive national flood inundation database and flood dynamics of Bangladesh developed between 2017 and 2020 using public domain Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images were processed in the Google Earth Engine (GEE) and replicable methodology. Using a set of analytic hierarchy process (AHP) criteria associated with flood disasters (e.g., floods recurrence areas), elevation, land cover, landform, population density, accessibility, distance to road, and distance to settlement layers were used to identify the hazard zones and the safest locations for building flood shelters. The study assessed that 7.11% of the area was inundated by overflow water in June 2017 and 8.99% in August 2017. Similarly, in June, July, and August 2018; June, July and August 2019, and July 2020, with inundation covering 7.26%, 10.87%, 11.07%, 9.50%, 10.56%, 5.01% and 11.14% of the country, respectively. The results show that extremely-high flood prone areas cover about 13% of Bangladesh. Analysis of the suitability of flood shelters shows that about 8% is extremely-high suitable, 16% is very-high suitable, and 7% is very-low suitability for flood shelters. The flood suitability and flood hazard maps would be helpful to support the local government, national and international organisations for flood disaster risk minimisation and the planning and construction of flood shelters.
Kabir Uddin; Mir A. Matin. Potential flood hazard zonation and flood shelter suitability mapping for disaster risk mitigation in Bangladesh using geospatial technology. Progress in Disaster Science 2021, 11, 100185 .
AMA StyleKabir Uddin, Mir A. Matin. Potential flood hazard zonation and flood shelter suitability mapping for disaster risk mitigation in Bangladesh using geospatial technology. Progress in Disaster Science. 2021; 11 ():100185.
Chicago/Turabian StyleKabir Uddin; Mir A. Matin. 2021. "Potential flood hazard zonation and flood shelter suitability mapping for disaster risk mitigation in Bangladesh using geospatial technology." Progress in Disaster Science 11, no. : 100185.
Major rivers from the Himalayas carry a high volume of sedimentation, and deposit it across the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh. This has caused significant changes in the morphology of the bay, including the development of islands across the bay area. However, few studies have been carried out on the morphological changes, especially the development of new islands across the northern Bay of Bengal. This study, therefore, aimed to assess the coastal morphological changes and ecological succession of the newly formed islands of the bay area. We used state of the art cloud computing technologies, using the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform. Publicly available annual composites of Landsat 8, Landsat ETM+, and TM data from 1989 to 2018 were used for analysis. The findings showed significant changes in the morphology of the coastal area over a period of 30 years. There was a 1.15% increase in land area between 1989 and 2018. New islands were formed across the bay, and a few old islands disappeared between 1989 and 2018. The majority of the offshore islands developed in the estuary of the Meghna River. Among the quickly grown islands, Bhashan Char, Char Nizam, Jahajerchar, and Urir Char are prominent. Initially, the islands appeared as barren areas without any vegetation, but different types of vegetation have been observed growing on the newly formed islands recently. The findings of this study are important for the conservation and development planning of newly formed islands.
Kabir Uddin; Nishanta Khanal; Sunita Chaudhary; Sajana Maharjan; Rajesh Bahadur Thapa. Coastal morphological changes: Assessing long-term ecological transformations across the northern Bay of Bengal. Environmental Challenges 2020, 1, 100001 .
AMA StyleKabir Uddin, Nishanta Khanal, Sunita Chaudhary, Sajana Maharjan, Rajesh Bahadur Thapa. Coastal morphological changes: Assessing long-term ecological transformations across the northern Bay of Bengal. Environmental Challenges. 2020; 1 ():100001.
Chicago/Turabian StyleKabir Uddin; Nishanta Khanal; Sunita Chaudhary; Sajana Maharjan; Rajesh Bahadur Thapa. 2020. "Coastal morphological changes: Assessing long-term ecological transformations across the northern Bay of Bengal." Environmental Challenges 1, no. : 100001.
The ecosystem services (ES) concept is an essential tool to promote interregional conservation and development, especially in landscapes where ecological, economic, and sociocultural resources are connected. Our study capitalizes on the interregional ES flow among the three countries – China, India, and Myanmar – that share the far-eastern Himalayan Landscape. We used participatory GIS mapping to visualize the ES flow from three protected areas (PAs) in the landscape, and participatory scenario analysis to understand the direction PA management could take. The service provisioning hotspots, the service beneficiary areas (SBAs), and the degraded service provisioning hotspots (dSPHs) were mapped for ES that was of high management priority. The trade-offs among the ES were analysed for the three scenarios – Nature-at-Work, Nature-People Harmony, and People-at-Work. The argument for regional cooperation was affirmed with several dSPHs lying along the border, and SBAs reaching beneficiaries beyond the PAs and one country. The performances of ES under different scenarios indicated that future management of PAs must widen conservation constituencies and capitalize on multiple benefits from PAs, essentially to maximize livelihoods benefits to communities who live in and around PAs. We recommend intra, inter-country, and regional cooperation pathways for the future sustenance of ES from PAs in the landscape.
Bandana Shakya; Kabir Uddin; Shaoliang Yi; Laxmi Dutt Bhatta; Mahendra Singh Lodhi; Naing Zaw Htun; Yongping Yang. Mapping of the ecosystem services flow from three protected areas in the far-eastern Himalayan Landscape: An impetus to regional cooperation. Ecosystem Services 2020, 47, 101222 .
AMA StyleBandana Shakya, Kabir Uddin, Shaoliang Yi, Laxmi Dutt Bhatta, Mahendra Singh Lodhi, Naing Zaw Htun, Yongping Yang. Mapping of the ecosystem services flow from three protected areas in the far-eastern Himalayan Landscape: An impetus to regional cooperation. Ecosystem Services. 2020; 47 ():101222.
Chicago/Turabian StyleBandana Shakya; Kabir Uddin; Shaoliang Yi; Laxmi Dutt Bhatta; Mahendra Singh Lodhi; Naing Zaw Htun; Yongping Yang. 2020. "Mapping of the ecosystem services flow from three protected areas in the far-eastern Himalayan Landscape: An impetus to regional cooperation." Ecosystem Services 47, no. : 101222.
The study presents the first comprehensive overview of ecosystem services (ES) research from the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), a region often referred to as the ‘water tower of Asia’. Through a systematic literature search, we consolidated 439 peer-reviewed journal articles related to ecosystem services in the HKH. A bibliometric analysis was carried out to examine the temporal trend, geographical distribution, journal coverage, keywords used, authorship patterns, and collaboration networks in ES research on the region. The results showed an increasing trend in the publication of ecosystem services research on the HKH, with nearly 62 per cent of the journal articles being published in just the last five years. Most of the research has been carried out in China, followed by Nepal and India. Among the 166 scholarly journals publishing ecosystem services research on the HKH, Ecosystem Services and Sustainability are the most-used, followed by Science of the Total Environment. The keywords analysis identified a total of 1,460 keywords used in the articles on ES. Among them, ‘ecosystem services’ is the most commonly used, followed by ‘China’, ‘Nepal’, conservation’, and ‘biodiversity.’ The authorship analysis revealed that of the total of 1,386 authors, 1,000 co-authored ES publications. The top publishing authors are from the region; however, they are either affiliated with an international organization or based in developed countries. Research institutions from 56 countries have networked to conduct collaborative ES research in the HKH, so far. Although China has the highest number of publications, Nepal was identified as a principal collaborator with the widest country network. The existing research focuses on biophysical elements of ecosystem services, with very few published studies covering its social and political aspects and the management of ecosystem services. As the HKH is a contiguous ecosystem shared by eight countries, there is a need for regional analyses of ecosystem services. Our study concludes that ecosystem services being a multidisciplinary concept, research into it requires regional collaboration between multiple actors from varied disciplines, with a greater emphasis on social and political science, together with the biophysical sciences, for a more holistic understanding. Furthermore, it is important that ES research include the local context and issues to avoid the dominance of international perspectives and the marginalization of local concerns.
Pratikshya Kandel; Nakul Chettri; Sunita Chaudhary; Prashanti Sharma; Kabir Uddin. Ecosystem services research trends in the water tower of Asia: A bibliometric analysis from the Hindu Kush Himalaya. Ecological Indicators 2020, 121, 107152 .
AMA StylePratikshya Kandel, Nakul Chettri, Sunita Chaudhary, Prashanti Sharma, Kabir Uddin. Ecosystem services research trends in the water tower of Asia: A bibliometric analysis from the Hindu Kush Himalaya. Ecological Indicators. 2020; 121 ():107152.
Chicago/Turabian StylePratikshya Kandel; Nakul Chettri; Sunita Chaudhary; Prashanti Sharma; Kabir Uddin. 2020. "Ecosystem services research trends in the water tower of Asia: A bibliometric analysis from the Hindu Kush Himalaya." Ecological Indicators 121, no. : 107152.
The Kangchenjunga Landscape, an important repository of biodiversity, faces several challenges owing to various drivers of change. Human‒wildlife conflict (HWC) is one of such issue that transcends social, economic, environmental, as well as national and international borders among the three participating countries – Bhutan, India, and Nepal – making it a complex, transboundary issue. Based on the existing literature, earth observation data, and geographic information system, we used maximum entropy along with relevant environmental predictor variables to model and map HWC hotspots. The results suggested that about 19 per cent of the area within the landscape is at high risk of human‒wildlife conflict, with an anthropogenic factor ‒ distance to roads ‒ as the top predictor. Some protected areas are at higher risk than others. The Himalayan subtropical pine forest ecoregion is a high HWC zone (~63 per cent), followed by the Terai‒Duars savannah and grasslands ecoregion (~43 per cent). They also revealed that the low- and mid-elevation zones are prone to conflict due to greater forest fragmentation; patchy protected areas are disconnected from each other, and not big enough for large mammals like elephants and tigers. Human-wildlife conflict is observed to vary across different elevation and climate region of the landscape and highly correlated with forest fragmentation of the midhills. Hence, a holistic approach at the landscape level is needed for tackling human‒wildlife conflict. Connecting good habitats by restoring fragmented inter and intra-country areas would be an effective measure to mitigate human‒wildlife conflict.
Prashanti Sharma; Nakul Chettri; Kabir Uddin; Kesang Wangchuk; Rajesh Joshi; Tandin Tandin; Aseesh Pandey; Kailash Singh Gaira; Khadga Basnet; Sonam Wangdi; Tashi Dorji; Namgay Wangchuk; Vishwas Sudhir Chitale; Yadav Uprety; Eklabya Sharma. Mapping human‒wildlife conflict hotspots in a transboundary landscape, Eastern Himalaya. Global Ecology and Conservation 2020, 24, e01284 .
AMA StylePrashanti Sharma, Nakul Chettri, Kabir Uddin, Kesang Wangchuk, Rajesh Joshi, Tandin Tandin, Aseesh Pandey, Kailash Singh Gaira, Khadga Basnet, Sonam Wangdi, Tashi Dorji, Namgay Wangchuk, Vishwas Sudhir Chitale, Yadav Uprety, Eklabya Sharma. Mapping human‒wildlife conflict hotspots in a transboundary landscape, Eastern Himalaya. Global Ecology and Conservation. 2020; 24 ():e01284.
Chicago/Turabian StylePrashanti Sharma; Nakul Chettri; Kabir Uddin; Kesang Wangchuk; Rajesh Joshi; Tandin Tandin; Aseesh Pandey; Kailash Singh Gaira; Khadga Basnet; Sonam Wangdi; Tashi Dorji; Namgay Wangchuk; Vishwas Sudhir Chitale; Yadav Uprety; Eklabya Sharma. 2020. "Mapping human‒wildlife conflict hotspots in a transboundary landscape, Eastern Himalaya." Global Ecology and Conservation 24, no. : e01284.
Time series land cover data statistics often fluctuate abruptly due to seasonal impact and other noise in the input image. Temporal smoothing techniques are used to reduce the noise in time series data used in land cover mapping. The effects of smoothing may vary based on the smoothing method and land cover category. In this study, we compared the performance of Fourier transformation smoothing, Whittaker smoother and Linear-Fit averaging smoother on Landsat 5, 7 and 8 based yearly composites to classify land cover in Province No. 1 of Nepal. The performance of each smoother was tested based on whether it was applied on image composites or on land cover primitives generated using the random forest machine learning method. The land cover data used in the study was from the years 2000 to 2018. Probability distribution was examined to check the quality of primitives and accuracy of the final land cover maps were accessed. The best results were found for the Whittaker smoothing for stable classes and Fourier smoothing for other classes. The results also show that classification using a properly selected smoothing algorithm outperforms a classification based on its unsmoothed data set. The final land cover generated by combining the best results obtained from different smoothing approaches increased our overall land cover map accuracy from 79.18% to 83.44%. This study shows that smoothing can result in a substantial increase in the quality of the results and that the smoothing approach should be carefully considered for each land cover class.
Nishanta Khanal; Mir Matin; Kabir Uddin; Ate Poortinga; Farrukh Chishtie; Karis Tenneson; David Saah. A Comparison of Three Temporal Smoothing Algorithms to Improve Land Cover Classification: A Case Study from NEPAL. Remote Sensing 2020, 12, 2888 .
AMA StyleNishanta Khanal, Mir Matin, Kabir Uddin, Ate Poortinga, Farrukh Chishtie, Karis Tenneson, David Saah. A Comparison of Three Temporal Smoothing Algorithms to Improve Land Cover Classification: A Case Study from NEPAL. Remote Sensing. 2020; 12 (18):2888.
Chicago/Turabian StyleNishanta Khanal; Mir Matin; Kabir Uddin; Ate Poortinga; Farrukh Chishtie; Karis Tenneson; David Saah. 2020. "A Comparison of Three Temporal Smoothing Algorithms to Improve Land Cover Classification: A Case Study from NEPAL." Remote Sensing 12, no. 18: 2888.
Land cover maps are a critical component to make informed policy, development, planning, and resource management decisions. However, technical, capacity, and institutional challenges inhibit the creation of consistent and relevant land cover maps for use in developing regions. Many developing regions lack coordinated capacity, infrastructure, and technologies to produce a robust land cover monitoring system that meets land management needs. Local capacity may be replaced by external consultants or methods which lack long-term sustainability. In this study, we characterize and respond to the key land cover mapping gaps and challenges encountered in the Lower Mekong (LMR) and Hindu Kush-Himalaya (HKH) region through a needs assessment exercise and a collaborative system design. Needs were assessed using multiple approaches, including focus groups, user engagement workshops, and online surveys. Efforts to understand existing limitations and stakeholder needs resulted in a co-developed and modular land cover monitoring system which utilizes state-of-the-art cloud computing and machine learning which leverages freely available Earth observations. This approach meets the needs of diverse actors and is a model for transnational cooperation.
David Saah; Karis Tenneson; Mir Matin; Kabir Uddin; Peter Cutter; Ate Poortinga; Quyen H. Nguyen; Matthew Patterson; Gary Johnson; Kel Markert; Africa Flores; Eric Anderson; Amanda Weigel; Walter L. Ellenberg; Radhika Bhargava; Aekkapol Aekakkararungroj; Biplov Bhandari; Nishanta Khanal; Ian W. Housman; Peter Potapov; Alexandra Tyukavina; Paul Maus; David Ganz; Nicholas Clinton; Farrukh Chishtie. Land Cover Mapping in Data Scarce Environments: Challenges and Opportunities. Frontiers in Environmental Science 2019, 7, 1 .
AMA StyleDavid Saah, Karis Tenneson, Mir Matin, Kabir Uddin, Peter Cutter, Ate Poortinga, Quyen H. Nguyen, Matthew Patterson, Gary Johnson, Kel Markert, Africa Flores, Eric Anderson, Amanda Weigel, Walter L. Ellenberg, Radhika Bhargava, Aekkapol Aekakkararungroj, Biplov Bhandari, Nishanta Khanal, Ian W. Housman, Peter Potapov, Alexandra Tyukavina, Paul Maus, David Ganz, Nicholas Clinton, Farrukh Chishtie. Land Cover Mapping in Data Scarce Environments: Challenges and Opportunities. Frontiers in Environmental Science. 2019; 7 ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDavid Saah; Karis Tenneson; Mir Matin; Kabir Uddin; Peter Cutter; Ate Poortinga; Quyen H. Nguyen; Matthew Patterson; Gary Johnson; Kel Markert; Africa Flores; Eric Anderson; Amanda Weigel; Walter L. Ellenberg; Radhika Bhargava; Aekkapol Aekakkararungroj; Biplov Bhandari; Nishanta Khanal; Ian W. Housman; Peter Potapov; Alexandra Tyukavina; Paul Maus; David Ganz; Nicholas Clinton; Farrukh Chishtie. 2019. "Land Cover Mapping in Data Scarce Environments: Challenges and Opportunities." Frontiers in Environmental Science 7, no. : 1.
Land cover maps play an integral role in environmental management. However, countries and institutes encounter many challenges with producing timely, efficient, and temporally harmonized updates to their land cover maps. To address these issues we present a modular Regional Land Cover Monitoring System (RLCMS) architecture that is easily customized to create land cover products using primitive map layers. Primitive map layers are a suite of biophysical and end member maps, with land cover primitives representing the raw information needed to make decisions in a dichotomous key for land cover classification. We present best practices to create and assemble primitives from optical satellite using computing technologies, decision tree logic and Monte Carlo simulations to integrate their uncertainties. The concept is presented in the context of a regional land cover map based on a shared regional typology with 18 land cover classes agreed on by stakeholders from Cambodia, Laos PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. We created annual map and uncertainty layers for the period 2000–2017. We found an overall accuracy of 94% when taking uncertainties into account. RLCMS produces consistent time series products using free long term historical Landsat and MODIS data. The customizable architecture can include a variety of sensors and machine learning algorithms to create primitives and the best suited smoothing can be applied on a primitive level. The system is transferable to all regions around the globe because of its use of publicly available global data (Landsat and MODIS) and easily adaptable architecture that allows for the incorporation of a customizable assembly logic to map different land cover typologies based on the user's landscape monitoring objectives
David Saah; Karis Tenneson; Ate Poortinga; Quyen Nguyen; Farrukh Chishtie; Khun San Aung; Kel N. Markert; Nicholas Clinton; Eric R. Anderson; Peter Cutter; Joshua Goldstein; Ian W. Housman; Biplov Bhandari; Peter V. Potapov; Mir Matin; Kabir Uddin; Hai N. Pham; Nishanta Khanal; Sajana Maharjan; Walter L. Ellenberg; Birendra Bajracharya; Radhika Bhargava; Paul Maus; Matthew Patterson; Africa Ixmucane Flores-Anderson; Jeffrey Silverman; Chansopheaktra Sovann; Phuong M. Do; Giang V. Nguyen; Soukanh Bounthabandit; Raja Ram Aryal; Su Mon Myat; Kei Sato; Erik Lindquist; Marija Kono; Jeremy Broadhead; Peeranan Towashiraporn; David Ganz. Primitives as building blocks for constructing land cover maps. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation 2019, 85, 101979 .
AMA StyleDavid Saah, Karis Tenneson, Ate Poortinga, Quyen Nguyen, Farrukh Chishtie, Khun San Aung, Kel N. Markert, Nicholas Clinton, Eric R. Anderson, Peter Cutter, Joshua Goldstein, Ian W. Housman, Biplov Bhandari, Peter V. Potapov, Mir Matin, Kabir Uddin, Hai N. Pham, Nishanta Khanal, Sajana Maharjan, Walter L. Ellenberg, Birendra Bajracharya, Radhika Bhargava, Paul Maus, Matthew Patterson, Africa Ixmucane Flores-Anderson, Jeffrey Silverman, Chansopheaktra Sovann, Phuong M. Do, Giang V. Nguyen, Soukanh Bounthabandit, Raja Ram Aryal, Su Mon Myat, Kei Sato, Erik Lindquist, Marija Kono, Jeremy Broadhead, Peeranan Towashiraporn, David Ganz. Primitives as building blocks for constructing land cover maps. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation. 2019; 85 ():101979.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDavid Saah; Karis Tenneson; Ate Poortinga; Quyen Nguyen; Farrukh Chishtie; Khun San Aung; Kel N. Markert; Nicholas Clinton; Eric R. Anderson; Peter Cutter; Joshua Goldstein; Ian W. Housman; Biplov Bhandari; Peter V. Potapov; Mir Matin; Kabir Uddin; Hai N. Pham; Nishanta Khanal; Sajana Maharjan; Walter L. Ellenberg; Birendra Bajracharya; Radhika Bhargava; Paul Maus; Matthew Patterson; Africa Ixmucane Flores-Anderson; Jeffrey Silverman; Chansopheaktra Sovann; Phuong M. Do; Giang V. Nguyen; Soukanh Bounthabandit; Raja Ram Aryal; Su Mon Myat; Kei Sato; Erik Lindquist; Marija Kono; Jeremy Broadhead; Peeranan Towashiraporn; David Ganz. 2019. "Primitives as building blocks for constructing land cover maps." International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation 85, no. : 101979.
During the last few decades, a large number of people have migrated to Kathmandu city from all parts of Nepal, resulting in rapid expansion of the city. The unplanned and accelerated growth is causing many environmental and population management issues. To manage urban growth efficiently, the city authorities need a means to be able to monitor urban expansion regularly. In this study, we introduced a novel approach to automatically detect urban expansion by leveraging state-of-the-art cloud computing technologies using the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform. We proposed a new index named Normalized Difference and Distance Built-up Index (NDDBI) for identifying built-up areas by combining the LandSat-derived vegetation index with distances from the nearest roads and buildings analysed from OpenStreetMap (OSM). We also focused on logical consistencies of land-cover change to remove unreasonable transitions supported by the repeat photography. Our analysis of the historical urban growth patterns between 2000 and 2018 shows that the settlement areas were increased from 63.68 sq km in 2000 to 148.53 sq km in 2018. The overall accuracy of mapping the newly-built areas of urban expansion was 94.33%. We have demonstrated that the methodology and data generated in the study can be replicated to easily map built-up areas and support quicker and more efficient land management and land-use planning in rapidly growing cities worldwide.
Nishanta Khanal; Kabir Uddin; Mir A. Matin; Karis Tenneson. Automatic Detection of Spatiotemporal Urban Expansion Patterns by Fusing OSM and Landsat Data in Kathmandu. Remote Sensing 2019, 11, 2296 .
AMA StyleNishanta Khanal, Kabir Uddin, Mir A. Matin, Karis Tenneson. Automatic Detection of Spatiotemporal Urban Expansion Patterns by Fusing OSM and Landsat Data in Kathmandu. Remote Sensing. 2019; 11 (19):2296.
Chicago/Turabian StyleNishanta Khanal; Kabir Uddin; Mir A. Matin; Karis Tenneson. 2019. "Automatic Detection of Spatiotemporal Urban Expansion Patterns by Fusing OSM and Landsat Data in Kathmandu." Remote Sensing 11, no. 19: 2296.
Bangladesh is one of the most flood-affected countries in the world. In the last few decades, flood frequency, intensity, duration, and devastation have increased in Bangladesh. Identifying flood-damaged areas is highly essential for an effective flood response. This study aimed at developing an operational methodology for rapid flood inundation and potential flood damaged area mapping to support a quick and effective event response. Sentinel-1 images from March, April, June, and August 2017 were used to generate inundation extents of the corresponding months. The 2017 pre-flood land cover maps were prepared using Landsat-8 images to identify major land cover on the ground before flooding. The overall accuracy of flood inundation mapping was 96.44% and the accuracy of the land cover map was 87.51%. The total flood inundated area corresponded to 2.01%, 4.53%, and 7.01% for the months April, June, and August 2017, respectively. Based on the Landsat-8 derived land cover information, the study determined that cropland damaged by floods was 1.51% in April, 3.46% in June, 5.30% in August, located mostly in the Sylhet and Rangpur divisions. Finally, flood inundation maps were distributed to the broader user community to aid in hazard response. The data and methodology of the study can be replicated for every year to map flooding in Bangladesh.
Kabir Uddin; Mir A. Matin; Franz J. Meyer. Operational Flood Mapping Using Multi-Temporal Sentinel-1 SAR Images: A Case Study from Bangladesh. Remote Sensing 2019, 11, 1581 .
AMA StyleKabir Uddin, Mir A. Matin, Franz J. Meyer. Operational Flood Mapping Using Multi-Temporal Sentinel-1 SAR Images: A Case Study from Bangladesh. Remote Sensing. 2019; 11 (13):1581.
Chicago/Turabian StyleKabir Uddin; Mir A. Matin; Franz J. Meyer. 2019. "Operational Flood Mapping Using Multi-Temporal Sentinel-1 SAR Images: A Case Study from Bangladesh." Remote Sensing 11, no. 13: 1581.
Kabir Uddin; Nakul Chettri; Yongping Yang; Mahendra Singh Lodhi; Naing Zaw Htun; Eklabya Sharma. Integrating geospatial tools and species for conservation planning in a data-poor region of the Far Eastern Himalayas. Geology, Ecology, and Landscapes 2019, 4, 187 -202.
AMA StyleKabir Uddin, Nakul Chettri, Yongping Yang, Mahendra Singh Lodhi, Naing Zaw Htun, Eklabya Sharma. Integrating geospatial tools and species for conservation planning in a data-poor region of the Far Eastern Himalayas. Geology, Ecology, and Landscapes. 2019; 4 (3):187-202.
Chicago/Turabian StyleKabir Uddin; Nakul Chettri; Yongping Yang; Mahendra Singh Lodhi; Naing Zaw Htun; Eklabya Sharma. 2019. "Integrating geospatial tools and species for conservation planning in a data-poor region of the Far Eastern Himalayas." Geology, Ecology, and Landscapes 4, no. 3: 187-202.
The Far-Eastern Himalaya Landscape (FHL), a shared transboundary landscape between China, India, and Myanmar, is one of the most intact and biologically rich landscapes in the Eastern Himalaya. Yet, the state of biodiversity and its significance are comparatively poorly known to conservationists and policy makers due to low priority in research, inaccessibility, and remoteness. We collated and reviewed 1032 articles relating to biodiversity of the FHL to understand research trends, identify knowledge gaps, and suggest priority research areas for future biodiversity conservation and management in the landscape. Our review showed that the Myanmar part of the landscape is the most studied, followed by the Indian and Chinese parts. The trend of publications in the landscape showed that the earliest publication on biodiversity in the FHL dates back to 1833, while the years from 2001 to 2017 account for almost 80% of the total publications. Most studies focused on species (73.6%), followed by ecosystems (25%) and genetics (1.4%). Mammals were the most studied taxa (22.6%), with a greater focus on charismatic megafauna, followed by arthropods (15.6%), angiosperms (14.8%), insects (13.4%), and birds (10.8%). There were very few publications on lower invertebrates and lower kingdoms, Monera, Protista, Fungi, and Viruses. At the ecosystem level, most studies focused on forests (58.5%) followed by freshwater (32%), agroecosystems (9%), and alpine/tundra ecosystem (0.5%); there were only 14 studies at genetic level. In the FHL, new species have been discovered and rediscovered starting from the early 1930s until 2017. The majority of newly discovered species in the last 18 years are arthropods. The paper reviews past research areas, identifies gaps for future research and intervention, and recommends transboundary collaboration to address these gaps for conservation and sustainable development of the FHL landscape.
Deepa Basnet; Pratikshya Kandel; Nakul Chettri; Yongping Yang; Mahendra Singh Lodhi; Naing Zaw Htun; Kabir Uddin; Eklabya Sharma. Biodiversity Research Trends and Gaps from the Confluence of Three Global Biodiversity Hotspots in the Far-Eastern Himalaya. International Journal of Ecology 2019, 2019, 1 -14.
AMA StyleDeepa Basnet, Pratikshya Kandel, Nakul Chettri, Yongping Yang, Mahendra Singh Lodhi, Naing Zaw Htun, Kabir Uddin, Eklabya Sharma. Biodiversity Research Trends and Gaps from the Confluence of Three Global Biodiversity Hotspots in the Far-Eastern Himalaya. International Journal of Ecology. 2019; 2019 ():1-14.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDeepa Basnet; Pratikshya Kandel; Nakul Chettri; Yongping Yang; Mahendra Singh Lodhi; Naing Zaw Htun; Kabir Uddin; Eklabya Sharma. 2019. "Biodiversity Research Trends and Gaps from the Confluence of Three Global Biodiversity Hotspots in the Far-Eastern Himalaya." International Journal of Ecology 2019, no. : 1-14.
The transboundary landscape approach builds on principles of integrated social-ecological systems with conservation and development perspectives at a transboundary level. The evolution of one such transboundary landscape in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) from the 1990's to the present is discussed through a phase-wise process. Both global and regional discourses have been influential in designing the transboundary Kangchenjunga Landscape which is shared by Bhutan, India and Nepal. The 25,085 sq.km landscape ranges in elevation from 40 to 8,586 m asl and is home to more than seven million people, while hosting more than 4,500 species of plants and at least 169 mammal and 618 bird species. With the aim of conserving and managing the landscape for sustained ecosystem services that ultimately contribute to the livelihoods of the women and men residing therein, the Kangchenjunga Landscape Conservation and Development Initiative was implemented since 2016. Lessons from the Kangchenjunga Landscape indicate that participatory and iterative boundary delineation, transboundary cooperation, identification of a lead institution, ensuring the global-local-global feedback cycle, and regional data sharing are key components for implementing transboundary landscape programmes in the region.
Janita Gurung; Nakul Chettri; Eklabya Sharma; Wu Ning; Ram P. Chaudhary; Hemant K. Badola; Sonam Wangchuk; Yadav Uprety; Kailash S. Gaira; Namgay Bidha; Karma Phuntsho; Kabir Uddin; Ghulam-Muhammad Shah. Evolution of a transboundary landscape approach in the Hindu Kush Himalaya: Key learnings from the Kangchenjunga Landscape. Global Ecology and Conservation 2019, 17, e00599 .
AMA StyleJanita Gurung, Nakul Chettri, Eklabya Sharma, Wu Ning, Ram P. Chaudhary, Hemant K. Badola, Sonam Wangchuk, Yadav Uprety, Kailash S. Gaira, Namgay Bidha, Karma Phuntsho, Kabir Uddin, Ghulam-Muhammad Shah. Evolution of a transboundary landscape approach in the Hindu Kush Himalaya: Key learnings from the Kangchenjunga Landscape. Global Ecology and Conservation. 2019; 17 ():e00599.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJanita Gurung; Nakul Chettri; Eklabya Sharma; Wu Ning; Ram P. Chaudhary; Hemant K. Badola; Sonam Wangchuk; Yadav Uprety; Kailash S. Gaira; Namgay Bidha; Karma Phuntsho; Kabir Uddin; Ghulam-Muhammad Shah. 2019. "Evolution of a transboundary landscape approach in the Hindu Kush Himalaya: Key learnings from the Kangchenjunga Landscape." Global Ecology and Conservation 17, no. : e00599.
A healthy wetland provides a range of goods and services contributing to human wellbeing. Inle Lake, the first Biosphere Reserve in Myanmar, has been supporting the local inhabitants with ecosystem services (ES) including habitat for a wide range of biodiversity. In the recent years, influenced by land use land cover change (LULCC), the lake has witnessed changes with altered flow of ES, affecting human well-being. Communities’ perceptions are often undermined, when it comes to research LULCC. We analyzed LULCC change data from 1989–2000 to 2000–2014 using Landsat imageries. This was then linked to ES considering dependency through qualitative data collated from participatory rural appraisal tools and structured questionnaires focusing on people’s perception to understand the LULCC dynamics and its implication. During 25 years (1989–2014), there has been a sharp reduction of 164 km2 perennial wetland area in the Inle Lake, which is 4.2-fold higher in 2014 to that of 1989. Similarly, forest area has been declined by 92 km2 (8.56%) in last 25 years. Contrary to this, cropland area showed an increment of 60.67% in 2000 and 64.53% in the year 2014 alone giving a total increase by 268 km2 over the last 25 years and an expansion of 40 km2 seasonal freshwater area were observed showing periodic increment over the time. Communities from the three study areas, namely, Kyaung Taung, Zay Gon and Kyar Taw are found to have high dependence in their surrounding ecosystems. These villages utilizes 17 ES from forest ecosystem, 13 from agro-ecosystem, 10 from seasonal and 4 from perennial water body for their livelihood respectively. Around 93% of the respondents opined that forest ecosystem has decreased over the last 10 years. Around 40% of the respondents reflected an increase in area used for cropland; 43% conversely perceived a declination. About 63% of the respondents perceived such changes have brought huge reduction in availability of freshwater ES. A significant number of respondents (92%) perceived an enormous reduction in seasonal water body during the dry season. Observed decreasing trends in forest and perennial wetland areas were consistent with people’s perceived changes. Communities associate loss of forest and wetland area with reduced availability of ES as well as degraded health of the lake.
Seema Karki; Aye Myat Thandar; Kabir Uddin; Sein Tun; Win Maung Aye; Kamal Aryal; Pratikshya Kandel; Nakul Chettri. Impact of land use land cover change on ecosystem services: a comparative analysis on observed data and people’s perception in Inle Lake, Myanmar. Environmental Systems Research 2018, 7, 25 .
AMA StyleSeema Karki, Aye Myat Thandar, Kabir Uddin, Sein Tun, Win Maung Aye, Kamal Aryal, Pratikshya Kandel, Nakul Chettri. Impact of land use land cover change on ecosystem services: a comparative analysis on observed data and people’s perception in Inle Lake, Myanmar. Environmental Systems Research. 2018; 7 (1):25.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSeema Karki; Aye Myat Thandar; Kabir Uddin; Sein Tun; Win Maung Aye; Kamal Aryal; Pratikshya Kandel; Nakul Chettri. 2018. "Impact of land use land cover change on ecosystem services: a comparative analysis on observed data and people’s perception in Inle Lake, Myanmar." Environmental Systems Research 7, no. 1: 25.
This article aims to develop a Web-GIS based landslide early warning system (EWS) for the Chittagong Metropolitan Area (CMA), Bangladesh, where, in recent years, rainfall-induced landslides have caused great losses of lives and property. A method for combining static landslide susceptibility maps and rainfall thresholds is proposed by introducing a purposely-build hazard matrix. To begin with, eleven factor maps: soil permeability; surface geology; landcover; altitude; slope; aspect; distance to stream; fault line; hill cut; road cut; and drainage network along with a detailed landslide inventory map were produced. These maps were used, and four methods were applied: artificial neural network (ANN); multiple regressions; principal component analysis; and support vector machine to produce landslide susceptibility maps. After model validation, the ANN map was found best fitting and was classified into never warning, low, medium, and high susceptibility zones. Rainfall threshold analysis (1960–2017) revealed consecutive 5-day periods of rainfall of 71–282 mm could initiate landslides in CMA. Later, the threshold was classified into three rainfall rates: low rainfall (70–160 mm), medium rainfall (161–250 mm), and high rainfall (>250 mm). Each landslide was associated with a hazard class (no warning vs. warning state) based on the assumption that the higher the susceptibility, the lower the rainfall. Finally, the EWS was developed using various libraries and frameworks that is connected with a reliable online-based weather application programming interface. The system is publicly available, dynamic, and replicable to similar contexts and is able to disseminate alerts five days in advance via email notifications. The proposed EWS is novel and the first of its kind in Bangladesh, and can be applied to mitigate landslide disaster risks.
Bayes Ahmed; Shahinoor Rahman; Rahenul Islam; Peter Sammonds; Chao Zhou; Kabir Uddin; Tahmeed M. Al-Hussaini. Developing a Dynamic Web-GIS Based Landslide Early Warning System for the Chittagong Metropolitan Area, Bangladesh. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information 2018, 7, 485 .
AMA StyleBayes Ahmed, Shahinoor Rahman, Rahenul Islam, Peter Sammonds, Chao Zhou, Kabir Uddin, Tahmeed M. Al-Hussaini. Developing a Dynamic Web-GIS Based Landslide Early Warning System for the Chittagong Metropolitan Area, Bangladesh. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information. 2018; 7 (12):485.
Chicago/Turabian StyleBayes Ahmed; Shahinoor Rahman; Rahenul Islam; Peter Sammonds; Chao Zhou; Kabir Uddin; Tahmeed M. Al-Hussaini. 2018. "Developing a Dynamic Web-GIS Based Landslide Early Warning System for the Chittagong Metropolitan Area, Bangladesh." ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information 7, no. 12: 485.
Land cover change is a critical driver for enhancing the soil erosion risk in Nepal. Loss of the topsoil has a direct and indirect effect on human life and livelihoods. The present study provides an assessment of the decadal land use and land cover (LULC) change and consequent changes in the distribution of soil erosion risk for the years, 1990, 2000, and 2010, for the entire country of Nepal. The study attempted to understand how different land cover types change over the three decades and how it has changed the distribution of soil erosion risks in Nepal that would help in the development of soil conservation priority. The land cover maps were produced using geographic object-based image analysis (GEOBIA) using Landsat images. Soil erosion patterns were assessed using the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) with the land cover as the input. The study shows that the forest cover is the most dominant land cover in Nepal that comprises about 6,200,000 ha forest cover. The estimated annual erosion was 129.30 million tons in 1990 and 110.53 million tons in 2010. The assessment of soil erosion dynamics was presented at the national, provincial, and district level. District wise analysis revealed that Gulmi, Parbat, Syangja, and the Tanahu district require priority for soil conservation.
Kabir Uddin; Mir Abdul Matin; Sajana Maharjan. Assessment of Land Cover Change and Its Impact on Changes in Soil Erosion Risk in Nepal. Sustainability 2018, 10, 4715 .
AMA StyleKabir Uddin, Mir Abdul Matin, Sajana Maharjan. Assessment of Land Cover Change and Its Impact on Changes in Soil Erosion Risk in Nepal. Sustainability. 2018; 10 (12):4715.
Chicago/Turabian StyleKabir Uddin; Mir Abdul Matin; Sajana Maharjan. 2018. "Assessment of Land Cover Change and Its Impact on Changes in Soil Erosion Risk in Nepal." Sustainability 10, no. 12: 4715.
Biophysical and economic values are often used to aid understanding of the complex interplay between ecosystems, their services, and human well-being, but community values are rarely considered. In a case study of Barshong gewog in Bhutan, we used mapping methods that involved (1) local knowledge and perceptions collected using participatory rural appraisal tools, (2) a household survey, and (3) geospatial inputs, to understand the linkages between human well-being and ecosystem services at the local level, as perceived by the community. The study identified three major ecosystems—forest, agriculture, and freshwater—that contribute highly to local livelihoods. Collectively, these ecosystems provide a wide range of goods and services, including 22 provisioning, 13 regulating, 4 supporting, and 6 cultural services. About 85% of the households depend directly upon provisioning ecosystem services for their livelihoods and income. The study also identified the importance of the ecosystems in terms of three value domains—ecological, socioeconomic, and cultural.
Pratikshya Kandel; Dago Tshering; Kabir Uddin; Tshering Lhamtshok; Kamal Aryal; Seema Karki; Bikash Sharma; Nakul Chettri. Understanding social-ecological interdependence using ecosystem services perspective in Bhutan, Eastern Himalayas. Ecosphere 2018, 9, e02121 .
AMA StylePratikshya Kandel, Dago Tshering, Kabir Uddin, Tshering Lhamtshok, Kamal Aryal, Seema Karki, Bikash Sharma, Nakul Chettri. Understanding social-ecological interdependence using ecosystem services perspective in Bhutan, Eastern Himalayas. Ecosphere. 2018; 9 (2):e02121.
Chicago/Turabian StylePratikshya Kandel; Dago Tshering; Kabir Uddin; Tshering Lhamtshok; Kamal Aryal; Seema Karki; Bikash Sharma; Nakul Chettri. 2018. "Understanding social-ecological interdependence using ecosystem services perspective in Bhutan, Eastern Himalayas." Ecosphere 9, no. 2: e02121.
Introduction: Mountains occupy 24% of the global land surface and are home to 12% of the world’s population; they host the world’s principal biomes and supply a diverse array of ecosystem services. But they are also highly sensitive to both natural and human induced changes, which can affect service provision meant for one third of humanity. Systematic research on impacts of land cover change from mountains at the local scale are limited, especially in developing countries, which poses a barrier to informed planning for sustainable management. Bhutan being in the forefront as contributor towards global conservation goals, a case study following a systematic research framework considering quantitative, qualitative and geospatial tools was experimented. Outcome: Respondents identified and ranked 24 ecosystem services, among which the provisioning services were the most important, followed by cultural, regulating, and supporting services. Forest was the most important land cover type for services, followed by marsh, scrub, water bodies, and agriculture. The area of forest declined by 2% and marsh by 7% over the 32-year period, suggesting a potential decrease in ecosystem services, which was also observed by the local community. Discussion: It was observed that 80% of the local people are still directly dependent on the diverse ecosystems for services. Though subtle, the decrease in land cover has implications for livelihoods of the people and the rich biodiversity of the area. Aspiring communities for local development needs guidance for identifying trade-offs in land cover types in sustainable management. An integrated and holistic approach focusing on both conservation and community development should be used to manage and develop the valley and the region sustainably. Conclusion: We recommend diversifying the limited livelihood strategies (potato farming and livestock grazing) to reduce the potential vulnerability of the local community and reduce the pressure on forest and marsh. Proper land use planning in the valley would be beneficial to maintain and regulate land uses in an effective way and avoid possible conflicts between settlement, agriculture, forest, and marsh.
Sunita Chaudhary; Dago Tshering; Tshering Phuntsho; Kabir Uddin; Bandana Shakya; Nakul Chettri. Impact of land cover change on a mountain ecosystem and its services: case study from the Phobjikha valley, Bhutan. Ecosystem Health and Sustainability 2017, 3, 1 .
AMA StyleSunita Chaudhary, Dago Tshering, Tshering Phuntsho, Kabir Uddin, Bandana Shakya, Nakul Chettri. Impact of land cover change on a mountain ecosystem and its services: case study from the Phobjikha valley, Bhutan. Ecosystem Health and Sustainability. 2017; 3 (9):1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSunita Chaudhary; Dago Tshering; Tshering Phuntsho; Kabir Uddin; Bandana Shakya; Nakul Chettri. 2017. "Impact of land cover change on a mountain ecosystem and its services: case study from the Phobjikha valley, Bhutan." Ecosystem Health and Sustainability 3, no. 9: 1.