Temporal Analysis of Forest Cover of Gir Sanctuary

Gir Wildlife Sanctuary, the only dwelling place of endangered Asiatic Lion, was established in 1965 in the state of Gujarat. It is spread across 1412 square kilometers. The temperature varies from 10°C to 45°C and the average rainfall received is 650 mm. In this study, an effort has been made to analyze the influence of rainfall and temperature over a period of two decades, that is, 2001, 2011, and 2021. The study analyzed the forest cover with the help of land use land cover maps of the sanctuary. To analyze the influence of rainfall and temperature, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI) maps were generated and were correlated with the above factors respectively. The study showed an increase in vegetation cover over two decades in the western parts and a decrease in the eastern parts of the sanctuary. It also indicated the variation in temperature and rainfall, which has impacted the vegetation of the sanctuary.