Indexed in Scopus Compendex and Geobase Elsevier, Chemical Abstract Services-USA, Geo-Ref Information Services-USA ISSN 0974-5904, Volume 05, No. 03 www.cafetinnova.org June 2012, P.P. 409-417 Land Use Dynamics at Padubidri, Udupi District with the Implementation of Large Scale Thermal Power Project 1,2,3 1,2 RAMACHANDRA T. V and BHARATH H. AITHAL 1Energy & Wetlands Research Group, Centre for Ecological Sciences [CES], 2Centre for Sustainable Technologies (astra), 3Centre for infrastructure, Sustainable Transportation and Urban Planning [CiSTUP], Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560 012, India Email:
[email protected] Abstract: Large scale land use changes leading to deforestation has attracted attention since the mid-19th century as the process is associated with issues related to global warming, consequent climate changes, alteration of biogeochemical cycles, alterations in the regional hydrological cycles, loss of endemic biodiversity apart from impacting the livelihood of the native population. Field research was undertaken in conjunction with the use of multi-resolution remote sensing data to assess the changes in the land use with the implementation of a thermal power project. This paper focuses on a land use land cover changes that have occurred due to the establishment of a 1200 MW power plant at Padubidri in the coastal district of Udupi, Karnataka. The results indicate that the vegetation has decreased from 8.1 (2003) to 4.24% (2011) while the area under built-up has increased from 5.26 to 8.1%. Keywords: Land Use Dynamics, Udupi District, Remote Sensing, Thermal Power Plant. Introduction: Schulz et al., 2010).