Review of studies on land use and land cover change in Nepal

Land use and land cover(LULC) in Nepal has undergone constant change over the past few decades due to major changes caused by anthropogenic and natural factors and their impacts on the national and regional environment and climate.This comprehensive review of past and present studies of land use and land cover change(LUCC) in Nepal concentrates on cropland, grassland, forest, snow/glacier cover and urban areas. While most small area studies have gathered data from different sources and research over a short period, across large areas most historical studies have been based on aerial photographs such as the Land Resource Mapping Project in 1986. The recent trend in studies in Nepal is to focus on new concepts and techniques to analyze LULC status on the basis of satellite imagery, with the help of geographic information system and remote sensing tools. Studies based on historical documents, and historical and recent spatial data on LULC, have clearly shown an increase in cropland areas in Nepal,and present results indicating different rates and magnitudes. A decrease in forest and snow/glacier coverage is reported in most studies. Little information is available on grassland and urban areas from past research. The unprecedented rate of urbanization in Nepal has led to significant urban land changes over the past 30 years. Meanwhile, long term historical LUCC research in Nepal is required for extensive work on spatially explicit reconstructions on the basis of historical and primary data collection, including LULC archives and drivers for future change.

Land use and land cover change within the Koshi River Basin of the central Himalayas since 1990

Land change is a cause and consequence of global environmental change.Land use and land cover have changed considerably due to increasing human activities and climate change,which has become the core issue of major international research projects.This study interprets land use and land cover status and the changes within the Koshi River Basin(KRB)using Landsat remote sensing(RS)image data,and employs logistic regression model to analyze the influence of natural and socioeconomic driving forces on major land cover changes.The results showed that the areas of built-up land,bare land and forest in KRB increased from 1990 to 2015,including the largest increases in forest and the highest growth rate in construction land.Areas of glacier,grassland,sparse vegetation,shrub land,cropland,and wetland all decreased over the study period.From the perspective of driving analysis,the role of human activities in land use and land cover change is significant than climate factors.Cropland expansion is the reclamation of cropland by farmers,mainly from early deforestation.However,labor force separation,geological disasters and drought are the main factors of cropland shrinkage.The increase of forest area in India and Nepal was attributed to the government’s forest protection policies,such as Nepal’s community forestry has achieved remarkable results.The expansion and contraction of grassland were both dominated by climatic factors.The probability of grassland expansion increases with temperature and precipitation,while the probability of grassland contraction decreases with temperature and precipitation.

Use of the Max Ent model to predict changes in sloth bear(Melursus ursinus)habitats in the Gandaki River Basin,Nepal

The Gandaki River Basin(GRB),located in the central Himalaya,provides habitats for a large number of important flora and fauna species.The habitats of key protected species have changed over time as a result of climate changes and human activities related to land use change,including the development of roads.This study assessed the present and future distributions of sloth bear(Melursus ursinus)habitats using the maximum entropy(Max Ent)model.Bioclimatic data,a digital elevation model and roads were used as environmental layers to assess current and future distributions of habitat.Results show that the overall habitat within the study area is likely to undergo important changes in the future.Bio 8(the mean temperature of the wettest quarter)and slope were found to be important variables affecting the distribution of the species.The habitats very highly suitable for sloth bears currently cover an area of 148 km^(2) within the GRB.These habitats are predicted to increase by 122 km^(2) more by 2050.Overall,a net change by 680.38 km^(2) was found in the GRB.Conservation measures are necessary for this key protected species and its habitat within the GRB and elsewhere in Nepal.

基于遥感影像的甘达基流域博卡拉和巴拉普尔的土地利用变化及其驱动力研究（英文）

城市扩张是反映经济增长的重要指标,但随意的城市扩张也带来了严重的社会经济问题、环境问题以及城市土地管理问题。在这个背景下,理解城市扩张的过程对于指导城市的可持续增长具有重要意义。本研究采用基于遥感影像的监督分类方法,分析了甘达基流域内的两个大城市—博卡拉和巴拉普尔1990–2018年的城市用地变化。结果表明:在过去的28年,博卡拉和巴拉普尔的城市面积分别显著扩张了300%和近500%。人口增长、城市基础设施和便利的生活方式引起周边地区向城市的人口迁移,是造成本研究区城市扩张的主要原因。除此之外,不断变化的城市定义和城市边界的扩张是造成城市快速扩张的关键因素。由于上述两个城市拥有高水平的商业活动以及现代化的设施,未来城市规模可能继续扩大。应当通过城市规划和政策减少随意的城市扩张,从而实现城市的可持续发展。

气候变化对喜马拉雅中部甘达基河流域濒危物种的影响预测

甘达基河流域位于喜马拉雅山脉中部,是众多濒危野生物种的重要栖息地。然而气候变化使该流域的生态环境变得愈发脆弱。本研究利用最大熵物种分布模型(Max Ent)评估气候变化对喜马拉雅黑熊(Ursus thibetanus laniger)和印度花豹(Panthera pardus fusca)等濒危物种空间分布变化的潜在影响。研究基于物种出没地点、生物气候和地形(海拔、坡度和坡向)等数据拟合模拟并预测物种在目前与未来的潜在分布情况。研究结果显示,目前喜马拉雅黑熊的高度适宜区面积约为1642 km^(2),占流域面积的5.01%,预计至2050年,其高度适宜区面积在甘达基河流域内将会增加约51 km^(2);印度花豹的高度适宜区面积约为3999 km^(2),占流域面积的12.19%,预计至2050年可能会增加到4806 km^(2)。喜马拉雅黑熊的栖息地面积可能会在研究区域的东部(伯塞里、塔托潘尼和班塞以北)增加,而在东部(颂当、切坎帕)、西部(布尔提邦和波邦)和北部(桑波切、玛南、切坎帕)减少;印度花豹的栖息地面积则将在研究区域东南部(班塞)、西部部分地区(赫里乔尔和桑迪哈克北部)和西北部(桑波切)增加,而在研究区域的东部、南部和其他西部地区减少。研究同时指出,海拔、Bio 15(季节性降水变化)和Bio 16(最湿润季度降水量)等环境因素对喜马拉雅黑熊的栖息地变化影响较大,而Bio 13(最湿润月降水量)和Bio 15(季节性降水变化)对印度花豹的栖息地变化影响较大。总之,这两个物种的栖息地在不同海拔下均会受到气候变化的影响,需要加强对该区域内濒危物种的保护力度。

喜马拉雅中部甘达基河流域尼泊尔国鸟(棕尾虹雉)生境分布变化

甘达基河流域(Gandaki River Basin,GRB)是喜马拉雅中部地区的一部分,该地区栖息着许多珍稀的野生动物。由于气候和人类活动的影响,许多珍稀保护物种的生境处于危险之中。本研究基于最大熵(MaxEnt)模型,运用生物气候、土地覆被和DEM数据,分析各环境要素对棕尾虹雉(Lophophorusimpejanus)的生境适宜性的影响,评估棕尾虹雉现在状况和未来栖息地分布的变化。研究表明,目前棕尾虹雉的高度适宜栖息地面积约为749 km^2,主要分布在流域北部、东部和西部,尤其是郎塘国家公园、马纳斯卢峰自然保护区和安纳布尔纳峰自然保护区等保护区内。到2050年,棕尾虹雉的高度适宜栖息地面积将减少至561 km^2,主要在流域北部和西北部(即Chhyo,Tatopani,Humde和Chame地区)。未来环境变化的模拟表明,由于适宜栖息地面积的减少,棕尾虹雉面临的生存风险将增加。

喜马拉雅中部柯西河流域土地覆被现状研究（英文）

位于喜马拉雅中部的柯西河流域(Koshi River Basin,简称KRB),是恒河支流也是南亚极为重要的跨境流域。流域内海拔落差巨大、生境复杂、生态系统类型完整、土地覆被类型多样且区域差异明显,是全球气候变化的敏感区之一。本研究基于Landsat TM、野外考察及植被图等多源数据,运用3S技术,编制了高精度的柯西河流域土地覆被数据,分析了流域土地覆被现状特征。研究表明:(1)2010年KRB土地覆被从流域源头至下游由雪被和水体(冰川)、裸地、稀疏植被、草地、湿地、灌丛、森林、农田、水体(河流和湖泊)、建设用地等9类组成。其中,以草地、森林、裸地和农田为主,分别占流域面积的25.83%、21.19%、19.31%和15.09%。而对气候变化敏感的冰川面积仅占5.72%。(2)KRB南、北坡土地覆被类型组成与结构迥异。北坡以草地、裸地和冰川分布为主,南坡以森林、农田和裸地为主;草地在北坡的分布面积远高于南坡,二者比例是6.67:1,而森林面积的97.13%分布在南坡,这些森林大多分布在河谷中部和南部平原地区,且与农田交错分布。(3)与环境相适应,流域主要覆被类型的垂直分布也具有明显的地带性特征。土地覆被由低到高,依次为农田、森林、灌丛和农田混合型、草地、稀疏植被、裸地和水体(冰川)的分布。研究结果为土地利用和覆被变化研究、为高山地区尤其是跨境流域的生态系统保护与管理、土地资源利用和可持续发展提供科学依据。

过去百年尼泊尔耕地时空变化（英文）

In order to advance land use and land cover change（LUCC） research in Nepal, it is essential to reconstruct both the spatiotemporal distribution of agricultural land cover as well as scenarios that can explain these changes at the national and regional levels. Because of rapid population growth, the status of agricultural land in Nepal has changed markedly over the last 100 years. Historical data is used in this study, encompassing soils, populations, climatic variables, and topography. Data were revised to a series of 30 m grid cells utilized for agricultural land suitability and allocation models and were analyzed using a suite of advanced geographical tools. Our reconstructions for the spatiotemporal distribution of agricultural land in Nepal reveal an increasing trend between 1910 and 2010（from 151.2 × 10^2 km^2 to 438.8 × 10^2 km^2）. This expanded rate of increase in agricultural land has varied between different eco, physiographic, and altitudinal regions of the country, significantly driven by population changes and policies over the period of this investigation. The historical dataset presented in this paper fills an existing gap in studies of agricultural land change and can be applied to other carbon cycle and climate modeling studies, as well as to impact assessments of agricultural land change in Nepal.