Trajectories of Land use & Land cover in Sirsa District, Haryana: Temporal Composition, Spatial Configuration and Probability of Changes in GIS Environment

 Abstract- Land use and land-cover (LULC) change is recognized as a fundamental concern of global environmental change (3). This paper explores the temporal composition of the main Land-use/Land-cover (LULC) categories, examines the spatial configuration of the categories, and derives the probabilities of transitions in the Sirsa district, Haryana. The knowledge about the LULC change generated through the geo-statistical and geo-informatics techniques is significant for the sustainable land use planning, management and utilization. The anthropogenic activities and technological advancements are considered to be responsible for a changed dynamics in land use / land cover (2). The present study aims to investigate the LU/LC changes using multi-temporal IRS P6 AWiFS satellite data (2006-07- 2009-10) of Sirsa district and to identify the hot spots of land use changes pertaining to various categories. At the same time, land use and land cover transfer matrixes are used to assess the dynamic