Currently, agroforestry is a very common practice on land use in almost all developed and developing nations and sustainable research is devoted to the design, testing and dissemination of agroforestry techniques. Agroforestry systems not only satisfy the need for wood to wood-based Industries, but also contribute significantly to employment development and the reduction of atmospheric Carbon dioxide (CO2) vis-à-vis mitigating climate change. Mapping and change detection analysis of agroforestry area by using the LISS-III and LISS-IV Satellite Remote Sensing data in the Ambala district of Haryana has been undertaken to develop an operational method in the present article. Supervised classification method was used for Land-Use/Land-Cover analysis for the year 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2019 in which training sites for seven parameters viz, agroforestry (Poplar, Eucalyptus based), agriculture, plantations (Horticulture, Scrub plantations, miscellaneous plantations) water bodies, forest, buildups, riverbed areas were mapped. The maximum area was estimated under agroforestry systems i.e.1.71%, 2.37%, 4.7%, 7.84% and 9.8%, which includes both poplar and eucalyptus based Agri-silviculture and boundary systems for the year 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2019 respectively. Change detection analysis from 2000 to 2019 in the study showed that mainly agriculture, plantations and sizeable water bodies areas were converted to agroforestry. Satellite data for 2019 driving forces behind agroforestry changes have also been investigated by GPS (Global Positioning System) based Ground Truth verification.

Agroforestry, Remote sensing, Geospatial Techniques, Climate change, Global Positioning System.

In order to harness the full potential of agroforestry, an accurate estimation of extent of area under agroforestry in the country is required. This can be done with the help of Geospatial technologies which includes Remote Sensing, GIS (Geographical Information System). This study concluded that agroforestry based systems in the district occupied maximum area along with agriculture and other classes. Poplar and eucalyptus based agroforestry systems occupied considerable area in Ambala and have significant contribution towards rising and increasing green cover in the state. The methodology adopted in this current study for mapping of agroforestry area using high resolution remote sensing data like LISS-IV yielded promising results. It was also concluded that with judicious use of Geospatial technologies, assessment of natural resources like agroforestry can be done accurately which will provide desired spatial information for planners and decision makers in the state.

Bojja Harish Babu, Mothi Kumar K.E., Sandeep Arya, Bimlendra Kumari and Krishma Nanda (2022). Mapping and Change Detection Analysis of Agroforestry area in Ambala District of Haryana State, India using Geospatial Techniques. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 14(2):450-456.