Integrated Geospatial Technology for Appraising Surface Temperature and Forest Biomass in Context to Conducive Tiger Habitats in Sariska Wildlife Reserve, India

Abstract

Sariska Wildlife Reserve of Rajasthan (India) is an excellent wildlife habitat, but due to improper conservation, anthropogenic activities and human-wildlife conflicts, the number of tigers started dwindling in the middle 1990s and completely disappeared during 2005. The forest temperature and forest biomass are vital parameters in several forest-related issues and has an apparent relationship to wildlife habitat and conservation strategies. Satellite remote sensing data being the best possible way for regionally and globally obtaining this information, this study reveals the efficient utilization of Landsat ETM+ for obtaining Forest Surface Temperature (FST), surface emissivity, forest biomass and tiger habitat suitability by spatial modeling. Results reveal the feasibility of the methodology for retrieving these biophysical parameters from synergic use of Landsat ETM+ band data including Thermal-infrared band and vegetation spectral indices.

Keywords: Biomass, Surface temperature, Tiger habitat, Landsat ETM+, Remote sensing