559
D. Kar, Wetlands and Lakes of the World,
DOI 10.1007/978-81-322-1023-8_26, © Springer India 2013
26.1 Introduction
Planet ‘Earth’ is our ‘Mother Earth’. It has been
nourishing and nurturing us with its air, water,
plants and animals. With the help of his inquisitive mind, man has been making every efforts to
unravel and use the precious treasures and
resources of the earth, since time immemorial, in
order to fulfi l his various needs. Man has discovered and invented various means and tools to
know about earth. One such tool of today is the
Global Information System or GIS which enables
man not only to know about her resources but
also to fi nd ways and means to utilise the
resources in a sustainable manner through proper
scientifi c management and conservation. It is
because, the earth, along with us, is standing at
the threshold of a possible disaster due to various
factors, like environmental pollution, climate
change, over-exploitation, all of which are unsustainable. One of the constraints most frequently
faced for decision making is lack of scientifi c
data of our natural resources. Often the data are
sparse or unauthentic, rarely in the form of geospatial database (map), thus open to debates.
Hence, the current emphasis of every country is
to have an appropriate geospatial database of
natural resources based on unambiguous scientifi c methods. This chapter is an attempt to discuss
some of the aspects related to the study of wetlands
using GIS database.
26.2 Classifi cation Scheme
of Inland Wetlands
(In Relation to
GIS-Based Works)
A wetland is an ecosystem that depends on
constant or recurrent, shallow inundation or
saturation at or near the soil surface. The classifi cation scheme of wetlands, as proposed by
on inland wetlands in the Indian subcontinent,
is a mix of hydrological and biological (aquatic
plant diversity) factors. However, from a practical conservation planning perspective, the
immediate need of the hour is to produce a reasonably detailed classifi cation based on a mix
of habitats and aquatic vegetation. The merits
of such a classifi cation lie mainly in its utility
to both managers and academicians. Such a
scheme is possible with extensive state-of-the
art spatial technologies and carefully chosen
fi eld information and data. The current sensor
resolution of course would permit aquatic
vegetation classifi cation at species assemblage
level, if not at species level. However, for the
reasons of wider usage and lower costs, it is,
nevertheless, possible to use the 20-m resolution sensors of the IRS series of Indian
remote sensing satellites. Hence, the modifi ed
classifi cation system should be adopted for
classifi cation of inland wetlands using remote
sensing data.
26
Habitat Mapping of the Wetlands
on GIS Platform
D. Kar, Wetlands and Lakes of the World,
DOI 10.1007/978-81-322-1023-8_26, © Springer India 2013
26.1 Introduction
Planet ‘Earth’ is our ‘Mother Earth’. It has been
nourishing and nurturing us with its air, water,
plants and animals. With the help of his inquisitive mind, man has been making every efforts to
unravel and use the precious treasures and
resources of the earth, since time immemorial, in
order to fulfi l his various needs. Man has discovered and invented various means and tools to
know about earth. One such tool of today is the
Global Information System or GIS which enables
man not only to know about her resources but
also to fi nd ways and means to utilise the
resources in a sustainable manner through proper
scientifi c management and conservation. It is
because, the earth, along with us, is standing at
the threshold of a possible disaster due to various
factors, like environmental pollution, climate
change, over-exploitation, all of which are unsustainable. One of the constraints most frequently
faced for decision making is lack of scientifi c
data of our natural resources. Often the data are
sparse or unauthentic, rarely in the form of geospatial database (map), thus open to debates.
Hence, the current emphasis of every country is
to have an appropriate geospatial database of
natural resources based on unambiguous scientifi c methods. This chapter is an attempt to discuss
some of the aspects related to the study of wetlands
using GIS database.
26.2 Classifi cation Scheme
of Inland Wetlands
(In Relation to
GIS-Based Works)
A wetland is an ecosystem that depends on
constant or recurrent, shallow inundation or
saturation at or near the soil surface. The classifi cation scheme of wetlands, as proposed by
on inland wetlands in the Indian subcontinent,
is a mix of hydrological and biological (aquatic
plant diversity) factors. However, from a practical conservation planning perspective, the
immediate need of the hour is to produce a reasonably detailed classifi cation based on a mix
of habitats and aquatic vegetation. The merits
of such a classifi cation lie mainly in its utility
to both managers and academicians. Such a
scheme is possible with extensive state-of-the
art spatial technologies and carefully chosen
fi eld information and data. The current sensor
resolution of course would permit aquatic
vegetation classifi cation at species assemblage
level, if not at species level. However, for the
reasons of wider usage and lower costs, it is,
nevertheless, possible to use the 20-m resolution sensors of the IRS series of Indian
remote sensing satellites. Hence, the modifi ed
classifi cation system should be adopted for
classifi cation of inland wetlands using remote
sensing data.
26
Habitat Mapping of the Wetlands
on GIS Platform