Long-Term Dynamics of Forest Cover in the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka

Abstract

The study aims to assess the extent of forest cover change in Central Highlands of Sri Lanka (1976-2019). Materials and methods. The change in the forest cover state in the Central Highlands has been determined by the NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index). The NDVI calculations were carried out according to the data from multispectral satellite images of medium resolution Landsat 1-5 MSS (80m) and Landsat-8 OLI / TIRS (30m) for the years 1976 and 2019 respectively. For the periods of 1976-1992, 1992-1999, 1999-2010, 2010-2019, the dynamics of the forest cover altogether in the Central Highlands and within the administrative regions were estimated, using the spatial analysis of intersections in ArcGIS 10.4.1. Analysis of forest cover maps produced from multispectral imagery data for 1992, 1999, 2010 and 2019, have been used to study the dynamics of forest biomes in protected areas such as Knuckles Reserve, Horton Plains National Park. Results and discussion. It is recognized that, in the period 1976-2019, there is a 27 % loss of forest cover in the Central Highlands. Particularly intense deforestation has been carried out to accommodate agricultural lands to the public in the period 1976-1992. In the periods of 1999-2010 and 2010-2019, the forest cover has been increased by 13000 ha and 45000 ha, respectively. Conclusions. The overall forest cover in Sri Lanka from 1976 to 2019, has undergone significant changes, primarily due to the influence of anthropogenic factors.