Conserving forests in the Eastern Ghats through remote sensing and GIS - A case study in Kolli hills

Abstract

The present study was carried out to identify the present (1999) and past status (1990) of forest in the Kolli hills, the Eastern Ghats and forest regions which are prone to degradation in the near future using remote sensing and GIS. About 25 ha loss has been observed in dry evergreen forest and about 35 and 1306 ha loss is observed in the semi-evergreen and dry deciduous forests, respectively. About 69% of the present forest area is under low risk category, 25% is under medium risk category and about 2 % (581 ha) is under the high-risk category. Mapping the forest resources in the Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu on 1 : 50,000 scale and its transformation in the last decade is not only a pioneer study, but also an useful information, especially for conservati on and planning.