Application of Remote Sensing and GIS in Environmental Monitoring and Management

Remote sensing (RS) and geographical information system (GIS) have been extensively used for their ability to provide better scope for decision making in terms of monitoring and managing various natural resources: water, land, forest, agriculture, natural hazards, climate change, etc. In this chapter, the authors precisely discuss in detail about the various applications of remote sensing and GIS in numerous fields such as monitoring water quality, crop modelling, monitoring wildlife habitat and forest management, application in agriculture and soil science, water resource, as well as natural disaster management. This chapter will also incorporate several case studies where GIS and remote sensing were used as a powerful tool to delineate and monitor environmental changes and take the necessary steps to manage the same. This chapter will thus focus on the importance of remote sensing and GIS and its impact in sound decision-making, which in turn will secure the sustainable utilization of natural resources to reach the requirements of present as well as future generations.