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Changes in Cropland Status and Their Driving Factors in the Koshi River Basin of the Central Himalayas, Nepal

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  • Basanta Paudel

    (Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China)

  • Jungang Gao

    (Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China)

  • Yili Zhang

    (Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
    CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Beijing 100101, China)

  • Xue Wu

    (Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China)

  • Shicheng Li

    (Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China)

  • Jianzhong Yan

    (College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China)

Abstract

In recent decades, human activities have significantly transformed land use and land cover (LULC) and the environment of the Central Himalayas region. LULC is a major component of environmental and climatic research. The aim of this study was to determine the changes in cropland status and its drivers in the Koshi River Basin (KRB) of the Central Himalayas region of Nepal between 1978 and 2010. The cropland status in 1978 was obtained from the Land Resources Mapping Project (LRMP) datasets. The cropland status in 1992 and 2010 was determined on the basis of satellite imagery, with an object-oriented classification method, together with field investigations. Advanced geographical tools were used for data processing and binary logistic regression models were used for the statistical analysis of potential driving factors of cropland change. A noticeable overall change in cropland area was found, with rapid increases from 1978 onward at differing rates and to different extents. The cropland area covered 7165 km 2 in 1978. It peaked at 7867.49 km 2 in 1992, and had reduced slightly (by 90 km 2 ) to 7776.66 km 2 by 2010. The change in cropland area was mainly related to four potential driving factors: topography (elevation, slope, and soil types), socioeconomics (population and foreign labor migration), climate (annual mean temperature and precipitation), and neighborhood factors (roads, rivers, and settlements). However, the effects of the different variables have occurred over various stages and at different rates. An understanding of long-term changes in cropland status in the KRB would be useful, and this could be extended to spatial reconstructions with the help of historical data, including cropland and climatic archives.

Suggested Citation

  • Basanta Paudel & Jungang Gao & Yili Zhang & Xue Wu & Shicheng Li & Jianzhong Yan, 2016. "Changes in Cropland Status and Their Driving Factors in the Koshi River Basin of the Central Himalayas, Nepal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-17, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:8:y:2016:i:9:p:933-:d:78069
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Mohan Kumar Rai & Basanta Paudel & Yili Zhang & Pashupati Nepal & Narendra Raj Khanal & Linshan Liu & Raju Rai, 2023. "Appraisal of Empirical Studies on Land-Use and Land-Cover Changes and Their Impact on Ecosystem Services in Nepal Himalaya," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-19, April.
    2. Bhaskar Shrestha & Qinghua Ye & Nitesh Khadka, 2019. "Assessment of Ecosystem Services Value Based on Land Use and Land Cover Changes in the Transboundary Karnali River Basin, Central Himalayas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-19, June.
    3. Bhagawat Rimal & Lifu Zhang & Nigel Stork & Sean Sloan & Sushila Rijal, 2018. "Urban Expansion Occurred at the Expense of Agricultural Lands in the Tarai Region of Nepal from 1989 to 2016," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-19, April.
    4. Bocchiola, D. & Brunetti, L. & Soncini, A. & Polinelli, F. & Gianinetto, M., 2019. "Impact of climate change on agricultural productivity and food security in the Himalayas: A case study in Nepal," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 113-125.
    5. Omaid Najmuddin & Xiangzheng Deng & Ruchira Bhattacharya, 2018. "The Dynamics of Land Use/Cover and the Statistical Assessment of Cropland Change Drivers in the Kabul River Basin, Afghanistan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-18, February.
    6. Jiarui Sun & Lu Zhou & Hua Zong, 2022. "Landscape Pattern Vulnerability of the Eastern Hengduan Mountains, China and Response to Elevation and Artificial Disturbance," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-20, July.
    7. Raju Rai & Yili Zhang & Basanta Paudel & Bipin Kumar Acharya & Laxmi Basnet, 2018. "Land Use and Land Cover Dynamics and Assessing the Ecosystem Service Values in the Trans-Boundary Gandaki River Basin, Central Himalayas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-22, August.
    8. Raju Rai & Yili Zhang & Basanta Paudel & Narendra Raj Khanal, 2019. "Status of Farmland Abandonment and Its Determinants in the Transboundary Gandaki River Basin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-18, September.
    9. Rimal, Bhagawat & Sharma, Roshan & Kunwar, Ripu & Keshtkar, Hamidreza & Stork, Nigel E. & Rijal, Sushila & Rahman, Syed Ajijur & Baral, Himlal, 2019. "Effects of land use and land cover change on ecosystem services in the Koshi River Basin, Eastern Nepal," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 1-1.
    10. Basanta Paudel & Yili Zhang & Jianzhong Yan & Raju Rai & Lanhui Li & Xue Wu & Prem Sagar Chapagain & Narendra Raj Khanal, 2020. "Farmers’ understanding of climate change in Nepal Himalayas: important determinants and implications for developing adaptation strategies," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 158(3), pages 485-502, February.
    11. Suresh Chaudhary & Yukuan Wang & Amod Mani Dixit & Narendra Raj Khanal & Pei Xu & Bin Fu & Kun Yan & Qin Liu & Yafeng Lu & Ming Li, 2020. "A Synopsis of Farmland Abandonment and Its Driving Factors in Nepal," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-22, March.
    12. Jingwei Xiang & Xiaoqing Song & Jiangfeng Li, 2019. "Cropland Use Transitions and Their Driving Factors in Poverty-Stricken Counties of Western Hubei Province, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-19, April.
    13. Suresh Chaudhary & Yukuan Wang & Amod Mani Dixit & Narendra Raj Khanal & Pei Xu & Kun Yan & Qin Liu & Yafeng Lu & Ming Li, 2019. "Eco-Environmental Risk Evaluation for Land Use Planning in Areas of Potential Farmland Abandonment in the High Mountains of Nepal Himalayas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-20, December.
    14. Mohan Kumar Rai & Basanta Paudel & Yili Zhang & Narendra Raj Khanal & Pashupati Nepal & Hriday Lal Koirala, 2019. "Vegetable Farming and Farmers’ Livelihood: Insights from Kathmandu Valley, Nepal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-17, February.
    15. Basanta Paudel & Zhaofeng Wang & Yili Zhang & Mohan Kumar Rai & Pranesh Kumar Paul, 2021. "Climate Change and Its Impacts on Farmer’s Livelihood in Different Physiographic Regions of the Trans-Boundary Koshi River Basin, Central Himalayas," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(13), pages 1-18, July.
    16. Cheng Duan & Peili Shi & Minghua Song & Xianzhou Zhang & Ning Zong & Caiping Zhou, 2019. "Land Use and Land Cover Change in the Kailash Sacred Landscape of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-15, March.

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