The Sahyadri, the northern part of Western Ghats in the state of Maharashtra, India, are one of the most fragile ecosystems on Earth. There are major changes in the original ecosystem and land use in the Sahyadri over the past two centuries.

A ground survey was conducted by Ecological Society, Pune in 1985 as well as in 2014 to assess current land use and status of biodiversity in the Panshet dam catchment situated in Sahyadri. This study probes to understand factors responsible for decline of biodiversity and changed land use. We highlight the extent and causes for change in land use.

The study attempted to quantify this change by carrying out manual digitization of multispectral WV-2 satellite images by visual interpretation and ground truthing and compare with the study done by Ecological Society in 1985.

The mapping of the catchment area shows that areas towards western escarpment i.e. away from the dam wall have retained better vegetation cover while degradation is evident in eastern parts of the catchment.

Such studies will be useful for land use planning, understanding cost-benefits of nature conservation, assessing restoration potential, and developing conservation-restoration strategies on a regional scale. We recommend similar vegetation and land use class mappingfor all dam catchments in the Western Ghats.