570
wetland habitats. Further, the storm protection
afforded by fringing reefs and mangrove forests
could be lost if the corals die or the mangroves
removed.
To work positively in this direction, an
understanding of the coastal processes, which
infl uence the coastal environments and the ways
in which they interact, is necessary. It is advantageous to adopt a holistic or systematic
approach for solving the coastal problems, since
understanding the processes and products of
interaction in coastal environments is very complicated. A careful assessment of the changes
which occur in the coastal environments and in
coastal ecosystems forms a major milestone for
effective coastal ecosystem management. This
could lead to sustainable utilisation of coastal
resources. All these could be achieved only
through the collection of accurate, reliable and
comprehensive set of scientifi c data. RS technology in recent years has proved to be of great
importance in acquiring data for effective
resources management. Hence, such a tool
could also be applied to coastal environment
monitoring and management (Ramachandran
1993 ; Ramachandran et al. 1997 , 1998 ). Further,
the application of GIS in analysis could give
better insights.
26.12.3.1 Mangrove Ecosystem
These are important but a fragile ecosystem
today. There have been serious efforts towards
effective management of the mangroves using
GIS techniques.
26.12.3.2 Coral Reef Ecosystem
The coral reefs characterise an ecosystem of high
biological diversity, having the greatest number
of species of any marine ecosystem. Due to high
spectral resolution (23 m), LISS III data are usually found to be more useful for coral reef mapping and monitoring.
26.12.4 Example from Pulicut Lake
The principal component analysis (PCA) of IRS
LISS I band 2 shows the lake confi guration and
the areas of submergence and erosion during
monsoon. At the end of the monsoon, the lagoon
bar mouth is usually completely exposed and it is
generally closed by the deposition of long shoredrifted sediments during summer season. Hence,
the mixing between the lake water and ocean is
restricted, thus infl uencing increase in salinity,
which may disturb the ecological health of the
lake. As a result of the increase in salinity in the
central part of the lake, the density of the water
mass increases which does not allow the suspended particles to settle at the bottom.
26.12.5 Example Related to
Application of Geo- spatial
Technology in Wetland
Management
RS data, in combination with GIS, are effective
tools for wetland conservation and management.
The application encompasses water resource
assessment, hydrologic modeling, fl ood management, reservoir capacity surveys, assessment and
monitoring of the environmental impacts of water
resources project and water quality mapping and
monitoring (Jonna 1999 ).
26.12.5.1 Flood Zonation
Mapping
Satellite data are used for interpretation and
delineation of fl ood-inundated regions, fl ood-risk
zones, etc. Temporal data helps us to obtain correct ground information about the status of ongoing conservation projects. IRS 1C/D WiFS data
having 180-km spatial resolution and high temporal repetitiveness may help in delineating the
zonation of fl ooding areas of large rivers, thus
helping in the preparation of State-wise and
basin-wise fl ood inventories.
26.12.5.2 Water Quality Analysis
and Modeling
RS data are used for the analysis of water quality parameters and modeling. Water quality
studies are done using the relationship between
refl ectance, suspended solid concentration and
chlorophyll- a concentration. In the near-infrared
26 Habitat Mapping of the Wetlands on GIS Platform
wetland habitats. Further, the storm protection
afforded by fringing reefs and mangrove forests
could be lost if the corals die or the mangroves
removed.
To work positively in this direction, an
understanding of the coastal processes, which
infl uence the coastal environments and the ways
in which they interact, is necessary. It is advantageous to adopt a holistic or systematic
approach for solving the coastal problems, since
understanding the processes and products of
interaction in coastal environments is very complicated. A careful assessment of the changes
which occur in the coastal environments and in
coastal ecosystems forms a major milestone for
effective coastal ecosystem management. This
could lead to sustainable utilisation of coastal
resources. All these could be achieved only
through the collection of accurate, reliable and
comprehensive set of scientifi c data. RS technology in recent years has proved to be of great
importance in acquiring data for effective
resources management. Hence, such a tool
could also be applied to coastal environment
monitoring and management (Ramachandran
1993 ; Ramachandran et al. 1997 , 1998 ). Further,
the application of GIS in analysis could give
better insights.
26.12.3.1 Mangrove Ecosystem
These are important but a fragile ecosystem
today. There have been serious efforts towards
effective management of the mangroves using
GIS techniques.
26.12.3.2 Coral Reef Ecosystem
The coral reefs characterise an ecosystem of high
biological diversity, having the greatest number
of species of any marine ecosystem. Due to high
spectral resolution (23 m), LISS III data are usually found to be more useful for coral reef mapping and monitoring.
26.12.4 Example from Pulicut Lake
The principal component analysis (PCA) of IRS
LISS I band 2 shows the lake confi guration and
the areas of submergence and erosion during
monsoon. At the end of the monsoon, the lagoon
bar mouth is usually completely exposed and it is
generally closed by the deposition of long shoredrifted sediments during summer season. Hence,
the mixing between the lake water and ocean is
restricted, thus infl uencing increase in salinity,
which may disturb the ecological health of the
lake. As a result of the increase in salinity in the
central part of the lake, the density of the water
mass increases which does not allow the suspended particles to settle at the bottom.
26.12.5 Example Related to
Application of Geo- spatial
Technology in Wetland
Management
RS data, in combination with GIS, are effective
tools for wetland conservation and management.
The application encompasses water resource
assessment, hydrologic modeling, fl ood management, reservoir capacity surveys, assessment and
monitoring of the environmental impacts of water
resources project and water quality mapping and
monitoring (Jonna 1999 ).
26.12.5.1 Flood Zonation
Mapping
Satellite data are used for interpretation and
delineation of fl ood-inundated regions, fl ood-risk
zones, etc. Temporal data helps us to obtain correct ground information about the status of ongoing conservation projects. IRS 1C/D WiFS data
having 180-km spatial resolution and high temporal repetitiveness may help in delineating the
zonation of fl ooding areas of large rivers, thus
helping in the preparation of State-wise and
basin-wise fl ood inventories.
26.12.5.2 Water Quality Analysis
and Modeling
RS data are used for the analysis of water quality parameters and modeling. Water quality
studies are done using the relationship between
refl ectance, suspended solid concentration and
chlorophyll- a concentration. In the near-infrared
26 Habitat Mapping of the Wetlands on GIS Platform