Geospatial analysis of elephant habitat suitability and movement for mapping the elephant corridor in Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary (India).

Wildlife and natural resources constitute an integral part of the ecosystem, whereas human interventions dismantled the living conditions of the wildlife. This is testified in the Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary (DWS) where the habitats of Asian elephants have changed due to human intervention and deforestation over the decades. The present study aimed to assess the elephant habitat suitability in the DWS of Jharkhand state (India) using the geospatial parameters such as forest density, degree of slope, proximity to water bodies, land use land cover, proximity to agricultural land, built-up density, and road density. The analytical hierarchical process technique was utilized to determine habitat preference and selection of relevant factors to categorize criteria. The study revealed that about 6.7% (26.74 km2) of the area is very highly suitable for elephant habitat, while 52.26% (208.49 km2) of the forest area was found highly suitable. The most suitable habitat was identified in the core parts of the forest, while the least suitable areas were found in the southern part, where the presence of roads, built-up, and agricultural land was prominent. It was also observed that most human-elephant conflicts were exhibited in the low and very low suitable areas, while 90% of the elephant movement was witnessed in the high and very high suitable areas. Among the four identified corridors, three are inactive, and their location corresponds with low to very low suitable habitats. The study identified the migratory corridor routes inside the sanctuary where effective management is required for the conservation of elephant habitats and minimizing conflicts.

Forest Fire Characterization Using Landsat-8 Satellite Data in Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary.

A forest fire has caused a loss of biodiversity and forest heterogeneity and resulted in forest degradation and fragmentation. Remote sensing techniques have been widely used for locating and delineating forest fires. The present study has employed Landsat-8 satellite data during 2014-2020 for spatiotemporal analysis of forest fire in Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary (DWS). Normalized burn ratio (NBR) has been used to delineate forest fire-affected locations along with visual interpretation techniques. The results showed that an extensive area was burnt and deforested due to forest fire in DWS during 2014-2020. The burned areas due to forest fires within the notified forest boundary in DWS were 12.11 km2, 25.5 km2, 22.45 km2, 9.11 km2, 24.44 km2, 10.09 km2, and 1 km2 during 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020, respectively, whereas burned areas outside notified boundary were 2.24 km2, 4.15 km2, 1.48 km2, 3.29 km2, 3.31 km2, 1.9 km2, and 0.1 km2. According to visual image interpretation, the highest burned area was found in 2015 (25.5 km2), whilst the least affected was found in 2020 (1 km2), and fires were mainly seen in the degraded forests and open forest regions. The present study revealed that forest fire is more dominant in Asanbani, Pardih, Bhelaipahari, Gobargushi, Bamri, Andharjhor, Somadih, Koira, Tetla, Bochkamkocha, Sah, Rbera, and Jamdih locations/beats in DWS. Thereby, these forest beats need attention from forest managers to control fire-mediated forest degradation for the conservation and restoration of forests in DWS.