SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION PATTERN OF JHUM CULTIVATION AND LAND USE LAND COVER STATUS IN AMRI BLOCK OF KARBI ANGLONG DISTRICT, ASSAM

Abstract

Shifting cultivation is also known as jhum cultivation in north-eastern region of India as the
main land use system in hilly areas. Increased of human population during last few decades is
main cause for intensification of practice of jhum (shifting) cultivation at a large scale in
Amri Block of Karbi Anglong District of Assam. In this study area it has been observed that
the dynamic change in land use and land cover been mainly caused by traditional practice of
jhum (shifting) cultivation. Land use is dynamic phenomenon and it changes with time and
space. The aim of this research paper is to investigate the spatial distribution pattern of jhum
cultivation in the study area. Another objective of this paper is to study land use land cover
status of Amri Block in Karbi Anglong District. Supervised Classification method with
maximum likelihood algorithm has been used for land use and land cover classification of the
study area using the software Arc GIS 10.2.1. For ground truth verification and error
reduction field study is carried out by using the handheld GPS. Land use and land cover of
the study area has been divided into seven categories. The total area of jhum (shifting)
cultivation is 127.15 sq km which is about 15.65 per cent out of total geographical area of the
Amri Block in the Karbi Anglong District in 2017. Due to the excessive practice of jhum
(shifting) cultivation in the study area the forest cover gets degraded and that ensure the
environmental degradation. Therefore the Proper strategy is required for sustainable jhum
practice mitigation the environmental problems..