Spatio-Temporal Monitoring of Shifting Cultivation Using Landsat Images: Soft Classification Approach

The practice of shifting cultivation has been increased due to an increase in population and is affecting the global issues, such as land use/land cover, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation, etc. In this study, the area of shifting cultivation lands in 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, and 2016 were analyzed in West Karbi Anglong district of Assam by using time series imagery of Landsat Thematic Mapper, Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus, and Operational Land Imagery with 30 m. The results showed that, from 1996 to 2016 the area under shifting cultivation has been increased from 149 to 215 km 2 , and was mainly distributed at elevations of 250–500 and 500–750 m and on slopes of < 10°, 10°–20° and 20°–30°. The area under permanent cultivation was increased from 10 to 72 km 2 .