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Impact of open pit coal mining on the forest landscape ecology using spatial metrics: a study of Barabani C.D. block, West Bengal

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Abstract

Mining is an extractive activity that creates pits, scars and waste dump especially when operated on open cast basis that not only degrades the landscape structure but also have significant impact over its functioning. There is a general consensus about the role of forest as an important entity of landscape structure in maintaining the ecological balance which is under immense pressure by the various anthropogenic activities like growth of built up area by means of urban industrial growth and expansion of mining area. This study has been conducted with an objective to assess the ecological health of the forest landscape and to analyse the land use land cover change in Barabini C.D. block of West Bengal, Eastern India where hectares of forest land has been greatly modified by open pit coal mining. The study has employed two satellite images of 2000 and 2017 to assess the land use land cover and spatial metrics of the study area. Modification of land use land cover to a large extent has been reported during the specified time, for instance, forest cover and agricultural land decreased considerably; built up area and mining area has been increased to a great extent. Landscape matrices of class level and landscape level concerning with the surface, shape, edge character and spatial distribution has been calculated to analyzed the spatio temporal character of the landscape. Increase in the landscape level spatial metrics value indicative of the development of a complex landscape structure with shrinking vegetative cover. The result of class level indices also reported that, the forest land not only fragmented by the formation of open cast pit but also experienced huge spatial loss over the specified time. This phenomenal change of the landscape structure is a matter of serious environmental concern that needs immediate attention for the sustainability of the region.

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  1. Independent Researcher, Durgapur, West Bengal, India

    Soumen Chatterjee

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Chatterjee, S. Impact of open pit coal mining on the forest landscape ecology using spatial metrics: a study of Barabani C.D. block, West Bengal. Spat. Inf. Res. 29, 645–659 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41324-021-00382-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41324-021-00382-w

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