Satellite-based Monitoring of Vegetation Cover of Lalbagh Botanical Garden, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India | Chapter 7 | Geography, Earth Science and Environment: Research Highlights Vol. 9

Lalbagh Botanical Garden, is a Bengaluru’s oldest garden, spread across 240 acre, is a home to wide array of plants from around the world, is a treasure house of biological diversity. Lalbagh has 2,950 spp of plants and trees. It was started in 1760 was given the status of a Government Botanical Garden in 1856 and since then it has been an internationally renowned centre for scientific study of plants and botanical artwork and also conservation of plants. Lalbagh Botanical garden with a high diversity of species, provide a storehouse of genetic resources from within the region and they also provide food and pharmacological resources for a range of species such as birds, mammals, reptiles and insects. The aim of the study is to give an overall picture of vegetation distribution and canopy coverage in different parts of Lal Bagh through satellite imagery.

In the present study Quick Bird imagery of 2005 is used for comparative assessment of NDVI and TNDVI indices with superwised classified imagery of LalBagh Botanical Garden, one of the largest and oldest botanical Garden in the Bengaluru. The NDVI and TNDVI transformed imagery of Lalbagh showed variation in their values. The different land use classes of supervised classified imagery showed more resemblances to the NDVI than TNDVI. It was observed that 33% of lalbagh’s 240 acres is covered with thick canopy comprising mainly large mature trees. Small statured ornamental specimens and many small trees growings in thickets like groupings constituting thin canopy, covering 20% area. Water Constitute about 13%. Rocky area is present on the North West comprises about 12% and Grass area about 16.6%. The study concluded that in order to achieve environmental sustainability, the city should increase both its percent green open space and m2 of urban green open space per capita. More and more efforts should be made in this regard to increase the green spaces in the city by maintaining the old green spaces like botanical gardens, parks and avenue trees. There is a need to have a clear account on existing green spaces. This study gives various land uses of the entire lalbagh in a broader picture and more supplementary study is needed to give tree wise distribution in the entire lalbagh.

 

Author (s) Details

Malini A. Shetty
Department of Botany, Surana College Autonomous, Bengaluru-04, India.

 

Parinitha Mahishi
Department of Botany, NMKRV College for Women, Bengaluru-11, India.

 

Priyadarshini Pillai
Department of Botany, Jyothinivas College, Bengaluru-34, India.

 

R.K. Somashekar
Department of Environmental Science, Bangalore University, Bangalore-56, India.

 

Please see the book here:- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/geserh/v9/4538