Assessment of connectivity in a water-stressed wetland (Kaabar Tal) of Kosi-Gandak interfan, north Bihar Plains, India

Abstract

Landscape elements respond to the processes acting on them, and this response connects with neighboring landscape units. The propagation, superposition, and interference of these responses are functions of the connectivity among the landscape units. Such landscape units are referred to as ‘Connectivity Response Units’ or CRUs that are in turn influenced by topography and landuse/landcover (LULC). The CRUs are obtained by the application of diffusion-kernel based smoothing technique over the connectivity potential maps. A framework has been designed using the CRUs to understand the impacts of changing LULC on the connectivity structure in a relatively flat terrain under pre- and post-monsoon scenarios. The proposed framework has been applied to a water-stressed wetland occurring in an interfan setting in north Bihar plains, eastern India. It has also been demonstrated that CRUs can be used as a viable option for understanding the seasonal and temporal dynamics of connectivity structure in and around such wetlands and for guiding a rehabilitation strategy for such fragile ecosystems.