Assessing Land Ecological Security Patterns through Remote Sensing: Tracking Built-up Encroachment and Agricultural Vulnerability in Rural Jharkhand, India

Background and Purpose: As tribal landscapes in India face unprecedented pressure from modernization, Agro-climatic Zone IV in Jharkhand serves as a critical flashpoint for shifting socio-ecological dynamics. This study examines land use and land cover (LULC) changes to understand how biophysical transitions intersect with rural livelihood vulnerability, by focusing on three purposively selected tribal villages, Borma, Asanbani, and Raksi. The research explores the drivers of change, including demographic shifts, state-led developmental governance, and market-driven land fragmentation. The primary goal is to provide a localized evidence base to support sustainable tribal land-use policies in rainfed agrarian systems.

Methods: The research utilizes a socio-ecological framework integrated with multi-temporal satellite imagery spanning from 2012 to 2016. Remote sensing data was substantiated through rigorous ground-truth validation and geospatial change detection techniques. To capture the human dimension of these transitions, the study integrated quantitative geospatial analysis with qualitative insights gathered from focused group discussions with local tribal communities. This hybrid approach allowed for a comprehensive mapping of both physical land-use shifts and the underlying socio-economic catalysts driving them.

Results: Findings reveal a significant and concerning transformation in land patterns, characterized by a critical decline in agricultural land, most notably reaching 9.19% in Borma. Simultaneously, builtup areas experienced a massive surge, peaking at 37.98% in Asanbani, driven by escalating population pressure and rising land values. The data highlights a growing conflict between infrastructure expansion and traditional agricultural sustainability. Furthermore, the analysis identifies a trend toward increasing fallow land, which signals heightened ecological insecurity and a potential breakdown of traditional rainfed farming systems under the weight of market-driven fragmentation.

Conclusion: The study highlights the urgent need for nuanced, village-scale interventions to protect tribal livelihoods from the adverse effects of rapid agrarian transformation. The results demonstrate that infrastructure-led growth often comes at the cost of agricultural resilience, necessitating a policy shift toward ecological security and the protection of tribal land rights. By bridging the gap between geospatial data and community experiences, this research provides a framework for policymakers to address land-use conflicts, ensuring that developmental governance in Jharkhand does not further marginalize vulnerable agrarian populations.