Gujarat has an agricultural economy. The total crop area amounts to more than one-half of the total land area. Gujarat is the main producer of tobacco (15.62%), cotton, and groundnuts in India. Animal husbandry and dairying have played a vital role in the rural economy of Gujarat.

Figure 4

Table 3 shows thedivision-wise Area under Agriculture 2015-16 in Gujarat state. It depicts that Saurashtra-Kutch Gujarat has the highest area under agriculture of 41369.6 Sq.Km. This division has most of the reservoirs and dams of Gujarat on which it is dependent such as Malan reservoir, Bhadar reservoir, Melakdi Talav, Khambhada reservoir, Fodara Dam, Kalindri Dam, Kharo Reservoir, etc. Another reason for its highest area under agriculture must be because of the highest rainfall it has received in the year 2015 i.e., 1100 mm which led to the increase in sown area. South Gujarat has the lowest area under agriculture of 14092 Sq.Km. Central Gujarat and North Gujarat have 20635.8 Sq. Km and 21808.5 Sq.Km of the area under agriculture respectively

Land that is periodically left idle to recuperate is current fallow land. This represents the cropped area that is kept fallow over the current year. Current fallow lands are left without cultivation for one or less than one agricultural year. According to 2015-16, Gujarat has fallow land of 12385.9 Sq.Km of the total geographical area.

Figure 5

Table 4 shows the division-wise area under fallow land in Gujarat state from 2015-16. It depicts that South Gujarat has the lowest area under fallow land of 900.5 Sq. Km and Saurashtra-Kutch have the highest area under fallow land of about 10758.8 Sq.Km. Central Gujarat and North Gujarat have fallow land of 2037.1 Sq. Km and 1690.5 Sq.Km of the total geographical area of the state.

The land which cannot be used for cultivation is called barren land such as hilly terrains, deserts, and ravines, etc. The land which is left fallow (uncultivated) for more than five years is called wasteland and is included in this category. It can be brought under cultivation after improving its fertility.

Figure 6

Table 5 shows the Division wise area under barren/Unculturable/wastelands 2015-16. It has been observed that Saurashtra-Kutch has the highest area under barren/Unculturable /wastelands of 37001.4 Sq.Km. This division is known for the large area of salt marshes or Rann of Kutch which alone covers 27,454 Sq.Km, Unculturable coastlands near Gulf of Kutch, black hills, Dhinodhar hills, Khatrod hill ranges, etc which contributes towards the barren/Unculturable/wastelands. South Gujarat has the lowest area of 1022.2 Sq. Km as most of the lands are under built-up area, forest or agriculture. Central and North Gujarat have area under barren land of 1988.2 Sq. Km and 2234.7 Sq.Km respectively.

Built-Up area consists of rural and urban areas. Built-up and related land, in land use and agriculture statistics, comprises residential land, industrial land, quarries, pits and mines, commercial land, land used by public services, land of mixed-use, land used for transport and communications, for technical infrastructure, recreational and other open lands.

Figure 7

Table 6 shows the division-wise area under built-up in Gujarat state. It has been observed that the Saurashtra-Kutch division has the highest area under built-up of 2407.5 Sq. Km as it consists of the highest number of towns and villages under it i.e. 12 districts and north Gujarat has the lowest area of 812.8 Sq.Km and this division consist of 6 districts which are the lowest amongst the four divisions, hence the built-up is less. Central Gujarat and South Gujarat have a built-up area of 1372.1 Sq. Km and 983.3 Sq.Km respectively.

A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. According to the State of Forest Report (2018), Gujarat has only 11.1% of its geographical area declared as forest, which is much below the national average. Forest and tree cover is in the extent of 11.46 % (7.46 % forest cover and 4.00% tree cover outside forest-TOF) of its geographical area. The state has wide variations in Geophysical and Eco-climatic conditions ranging from hot saline deserts to humid hilly tracts and from coast to high hills, which have resulted in the formation of various types of forest.

Figure 8

Table 7 shows the division-wise area under forest in Gujarat state 2015-16. It has been observed that Saurashtra-Kutch has the highest area under forests of 10821 Sq.Km. this division has a total of 21 wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, and other protected areas. Some of them are Gir Wildlife Sanctuary & National Parks, Marine Sanctuary, Wild Ass Sanctuary, Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary, Kachchh Biosphere Reserve, Blackbuck National Park, etc. North Gujarat has the lowest area under forest of 2951.9 Sq. Km and the major forest covers are under Jessore Sloth Bear Sanctuary, Balaram Ambaji Wildlife Sanctuary, and Hill forest. Central Gujarat and South Gujarat have 3055.8 Sq. Km and 5029.7 Sq.Km respectively. The state’s forest cover in Gujarat has evinced an overall increase since 1991 when the forest cover was only 11,907 sq. km and increased to a maximum of 21859.2 sq. km in 2015-16.

Wetlands are areas in which water is the key factor regarding controlling the environment and allied flora and fauna. They occur where the water table is at or near the surface of the land. They are among the world’s most productive environments in terms of aquatic biodiversity. Wetlands have been described as “the kidneys of the landscape”, because of the functions they perform during hydrological and chemical cycles and as “biological supermarkets” because of the extensive food webs and rich biodiversity they support (Mitsch & Gosselink 1993).

Table 8 shows the division-wise area under wetlands in Gujarat state 2015-16. It has been observed that Saurashtra-Kutch has most of the wetlands in Gujarat amongst all the divisions and it covers an area of 5459.6 Sq.Km. It has 7029 wetlands accommodating 2386 small wetlands. The dominating categories of wetlands here are the inter-tidal mudflats, rivers/streams, salt pans, reservoirs, mangroves, etc. North Gujarat has the lowest area of land under wetlands i.e. 54.3 Sq.Km. The major wetland categories are rivers/streams, reservoirs, and tanks/ponds. Central Gujarat and South Gujarat have 281.9 Sq. Km and 819.8 Sq.Km of the area under wetlands respectively and their major wetland subclasses are rivers/streams, tanks/ponds, reservoirs, salt marsh, mudflats, etc.

Figure 9

A body of water or water body is any significant accumulation of water, generally on a planet's surface. The term most often refers to oceans, seas, and lakes, but it includes smaller pools of water such as ponds, wetlands, or more rarely, puddles.

Water bodies occupy 6753.7 Sq.Km of the total geographical area of the Gujarat state. Table 8 shows the division-wise area under water bodies in Gujarat state from2015-16. It has been observed that Saurashtra-Kutch has the highest area under water bodies amongst the four divisions of 3255.7 Sq.Km. Some of the major water bodies are Harmirsar Lake, Shakoor Lake, Narayan Sarovar, Saroj Lake, Gundi Talav, Shinai Lake, etc. North Gujarat has the lowest area under water bodies of 917.2 Sq. Km and the major water bodies are Sahasralinga Talav, Bindu Sarovar, Thol Lake, etc. Central Gujarat and South Gujarat has 1294.7 Sq. Km and 1186.2 Sq.Km of the area underwater bodies respectively. Major water bodies are Kankaria Lake, Nal Sarovar, Sursagar Lake, Chandola Lake and Vastrapur Lake of central Gujarat, and Gopi Talav, Narmada River of south Gujarat.

Figure 10

The present study shows the assessment of land use and land cover pattern of Gujarat state. The study divides the state into four divisions, each consisting of concerned districts and a general division of the land use and land cover categories. The study shows different tables and pie diagrams of areas under different land use and land cover classes. Saurashtra-Kutch division with 12 districts has the highest percentage of area under agriculture, fallow, built-up, forest, wasteland/barren land, wetland, and water bodies. In terms of agriculture, fallow, wasteland/barren land, and forest, there are huge differences in the area covered between the Saurashtra-Kutch division and the other divisions. The Kutch region alone makes a huge difference because of its large geographical area of 45,674 sq.km. The study thus helps to access and understand the current status and Spatio-temporal changes of land use and land cover of Gujarat.