Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Assessing the status of changing regimes of water bodies in Gorakhpur District, Uttar Pradesh, India

  • Published:
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Water bodies play a very important role in maintaining and restoring the ecological balance, but they are one of the most threatened habitats in the world. Anthropogenic intervention is changing the regimes of wetlands almost everywhere particularly in the developing countries. Gorakhpur District is dotted with many big and small flood plain–related water bodies like rivers, streams, tanks, dead arms, oxbow lakes, etc. Some of these water bodies are worst affected and are degraded by encroachment for agriculture and other economic and developmental activities. Channel migration, aggravated by human intervention, on alluvial plain is also very frequent, which has direct impact on the nature of water bodies and land use transformations of the region. In this paper, the authors have made an attempt to (a) bring current geographical and historical background of water bodies/wetlands for the district. It aims to assess long-term (1917–2018) and short-term (pre- and post-monsoon) changes in the water bodies of Gorakhpur District; (b) provide changes in the regime of water bodies/wetlands and their conversion to different types of land use/land cover classes due to human intervention and due to annual rainy season, which inundates a large extent of the area every year; (C) assess the channel characteristics and morphometric analysis of main rivers of the region during the last hundred years. Remote sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS) have been used to prepare the inventory and to perform change detection, using land use/land cover maps. The floodplain areas of water bodies have almost changed their morphological characters due to encroachment by the nearby areas. Canals, drainage channels, and lakes are the most affected water bodies in the region, which have recorded − 65.38% and 43.37% loss in their area. Even permanent rivers have recorded a decrease of − 16.96% in the area. As per the seasonal change, agriculture land suffered the greatest conversion (18.33%) due to floodwater inundation. The study provides a platform to planners to chalk out their policies and also for monitoring the water bodies. Furthermore, analysis on channel migration will help predict the future course of the main rivers.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

source: Google Earth imageries (2018)

Fig. 2

source: Google Earth imageries (2018); toposheets (2004–2005)

Fig. 3

source: toposheets and satellite images)

Fig. 4

source: Google Earth image (2011, 2018)

Fig. 5
Fig. 6

source: LISS IV imageries (2018), NRSC-India

Fig. 7

source: toposheets (1917, 1971); Google Earth image (2018)

Fig. 8

source: toposheets (1917, 1971); Google Earth image (2018)

Fig. 9

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

References

  • Anon. (2012). Report of the workshop on small streams, held at Carlingford, County Louth, Ireland, 27–28 November, Available at http://ibis-eu-know.weebly.com/nov-2012-small-streams–carlingford.html

  • Biggs, J., Nicolet P., Mlinaric, M., & Lalann T. (2014). Report of the workshop on the protection and management of small water bodies, Brussels, 14th November, The European Environmental Bureau (EEB) and the Freshwater Habitats Trust.

  • Bindu, C. A., & Mohamed, A. R. (2016). Water bodies as a catalyst to growth and development- the case of Kodungallur town. Kerala, December, Procedia Technology, 24, 1790–1800. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.protcy.2016.05.222

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chatrath, K. J. S. (1992). Wetlands of India. Ashish Publishing House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chaudhauri, A. B. (2007). Endangered wetlands. Daya Publishing House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Das, N., Ohri, A., Agnihotri, A. K., & Omar, P. (2020). Wetland dynamics using geo-spatial technology. In Advances in water resources engineering and management (pp. 237–244). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8181-2_18

  • Foote, L., Pandey, S., & Krogman, N. T. (1996). Processes of wetland loss in India. Environmental Conservation, 23, 45–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giri, P. C., Pradhan, D., Rey, S. O., & Elke, K. (1998). Land use/land cover change in South-East Asia, Environment Assessment Technical Reports, UNEP Environment Assessment Programme for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok.

  • Gitelson, A., Garbuzov, G., Szilagyi, F., Mittenzwey, K. H., Karnielli, A., & Kaiser, A. (1993). Quantitative remote sensing methods for real-time monitoring of inland water quality. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 14, 1269–1295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gopal, B. T., et al. (1982). Wetland ecology and management. National Institute of Ecology and International Scientific Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hazra, P. B., & Bhattacharya, B. (1999). River shifting and bank failure problem of Ganga- Padma in West Bengal. In S. Adiga (Ed.), Retrospective and perspective, proceedings of ISRS national symposium on remote sensing applications for natural resources (pp. 385–390). Dehradun.

  • Indira, S. G. (2011). Degradation in wetland ecology in northern part of Nadia District. West Bengal, Geographical Review of India, the Geographical Society of India, Kolkata, Dec., 73(4), 351–363.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jonna, S. (1999). Remote sensing applications to water resources: Retrospective and perspective. In S. Adiga (Ed.), Proceedings of ISRS national symposium on remote sensing applications for natural resources (pp. 368–377). Dehradun.

  • Lillesand, T. M., Kiefer, R. W., & Chipman, J. W. (2008). Remote sensing and image interpretation. Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mandal, R. B. (1995). Wetland management in north Bihar. Concept Publishing Company Pvt. Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, J., Beilfuss R., Kaplan L. A., Carpenter Q., Newbold D., Semlitsch R., Strayer D. L., Watzin M. C., Woltemade C. J., Zedler P. H., & Zedler J. B. (2007). Where rivers are born: The scientific imperative for defending small streams and wetlands, American Rivers and the Sierra Club.

  • Mitsch, W. J., Gosselink, J. G., & Van Nostrand, R. (1993). Wetlands, New York. Plant Ecology, 118(1):57–79. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00045191

  • Mohan, S., & Shrestha, M. N. (2000). A GIS based integrated model for assessment of hydrological changes due to land-use modifications, in T.V. Ramchandra (ed.) Symposium on restoration of lakes and wetlands, November 2000, Indian Institute of Sciences, Bangalore: 27–29.

  • Moirangleima, K. (2010). Sustainable management of wetland: Central valley of Manipur (pp. 145–196). B. R. Publishing Corporation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prasad, S. N., Ramachandra, T. V., Ahalya, N., Sengupta, T., Kumar, A., Tiwari, A. K., Vijayan, V. S., & Vijayan, L. (2002). Conservation of wetlands of India – a review. International Society for Tropical Ecology, 43(1), 173–186.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quinn, K., & M. and Baars, J. R. (2014). Small water bodies: Importance, threats and knowledge gaps. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, 114B, 117–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raju, P. L. N., Chakraborti, A. K., & Deshpande, C. V. (1993). Estimation of suspended sediment load upper lake, Bhopal using remote sensing techniques. In B. Sahai, D. C. Goswami, A. K. Rai, N. D. Sharma, K. V. Ravindran, & P. K. Sharma (Eds.). Proceedings national symposium on remote sensing applications for resource management with special emphasis on N. E. region (pp. 25–27). Guwahati.

  • Roy, A. K., & Datta, D. (2018). Analyzing the effects of afforestation on estuarine environment of river Subarnarekha, India using geospatial technologies and participatory appraisals. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 190, 645. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-018-7030-7

  • Sarkar, A., & Jain, S. K. (2008). Using remote sensing data to study wetland dynamics – a case study of Harike Wetland. In M. Sengupta, & R. Dalwani (Eds.). Proceedings of Taal 2007: The 12th world lake conference (pp. 680–684).

  • Sasmal, S. K., & Raju, P. L. N. (1996). Monitoring suspended load in estuarine waters of Hooghly with satellite data using PC based GIS environment. In Proceedings of National Symposium on Coastal Zone Management, Feb. 25–26 Behrampur University, Behrampur, Orissa.

  • Seshamani, R., Alex, T. K., & Jain, Y. K. (1994). An airborne sensor for primary productivity and related parameters of coastal waters and large water bodies. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 15, 1101–1108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh, H. R., & Badola, S. P. (1978). The location of lakes of the Nainital area, Himalayan Studies and Regional Development, 2.

  • Sinha, P. C., & Mohanty, R. (2002). Wetland: Management, policy and law. Kanishka Publishers and Distributors.

    Google Scholar 

  • Srivastava, V. K. (1997). Study of drainage pattern of Jharia Coalfield (Bihar), India, through remote sensing technology. Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing, 25, 41–46.

  • Zutshi, D. P., & Yousuf, A. R. (2014). Lakes and wetlands of Kashmir Himalaya: Ecology, conservations and management. Heritage Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

The study was carried out as a part of the major research project, funded by University grant Commission (UGC), New Delhi.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Humanities and Social Sciences (SHSS), Sharda University, Greater Noida, U.P, India

    Nutan Tyagi

  2. Department of Geography, D.D.U. Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur, U.P, India

    Santanu Sahoo

Authors
  1. Nutan Tyagi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Santanu Sahoo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Tyagi, N., Sahoo, S. Assessing the status of changing regimes of water bodies in Gorakhpur District, Uttar Pradesh, India. Environ Monit Assess 194, 67 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-021-09630-w

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-021-09630-w

Keywords

Search

Navigation