Monitoring Aquatic Vegetation Distribution in Chilika Lagoon with G-tech

Abstract

Chilika Lagoon with a water spread area varies from 1,144 km² of in the monsoon season to 780 km² in the winter dry season (National Wetland Atlas, Orissa) of a large wetlands eco-system. The lagoon had been facing with different problems, like shifting of the mouth, decrease in salinity level, shrinkage of water spread area due to sedimentation, increasing the fresh water weeds etc. To monitor the aquatic vegetation distribution from the year 1975 to 2014, an attempt was made to monitor the same as a Remote Sensing and GIS approach. In the year 1975 the emergent vegetation was only 18sq.km. in the whole lake. After that in the year 1988 it was 92.12 sq.km. & in the year 2004, after opening the Sipakuda inlet the emergent vegetation reduced upto 56.29 sq.km.

Keywords: Lagoon, Shrinkage, Sedimentation, Remote Sensing & GIS