An Assessment of Change in Vegetation Density to Estimate Landscape Vulnerability of Munnar and its Surroundings, Western Ghats, Kerala

Assessment of temporal changes in the vegetation density in an area is essential in land dynamic studies oriented towards the understanding of the vulnerability of the landscape concerned. The present investigation is attempted to understand the vulnerability of the landscape comprising a segment of an ecologically sensitive hotspot of the world, the Munnar and its surroundings, extending between 76?53' 57.53 and 77? 14?42.97? East longitudes and 10? 02? 5.08 to 10? 18' 51.08 North latitudes with an areal extent of 554.290 Sq. km. The analysis has been attempted by generating NDVI using remotely sensed data of the area for a period of about three decades. The study exposed that a significant deterioration has occurred to the vegetative cover of the study area, the Munnar and its surroundings, and which increased the vulnerability of the landscape under investigation.