An Analysis of Land Use Pattern and Cropping intensity of District Maharajganj, Uttar Pradesh

Abstract

Land as a factor of production has immense importance. Land may be rightly called the original source of all
material wealth. Land is used for agricultural,industrial, recreational purpose. So land is most important
natural resource. Therefore the study of land use / land cover pattern of a region is an outcome of the natural
and socio-economic factor and their utilization by man in time and space. Land is becoming scarce due to
immense agricultural activities and demographic pressure. Being a scarce resource it is necessity to use the
land in a sustainable way. The study of land use is the integral part of geographical study. Land use is the
actual and specific use to which the land surface is put in terms of inherent land use characteristics. Land use
and land cover (LU/LC) in Maharajganj district has undergone constant change over the past two decades.
Major changes caused by anthropogenic and natural factors have impacted regional environment and climate
of the study area. Keeping this fact in view, an attempt has been made here to study the distribution and
change in utilization of land under various categories in Maharajganj district lying in Tarai tract. This study
is mainly based on secondary source of data collected from various government publications. Appropriate
methodology is used for tabulation of data, mapping and graphical representation. Land use data has been
analysed at block level using statistical tools and techniques. The result show that general land use is
dominated by cultivated land (68.54%). Findings of the study may be helpful for sustainable utilization of
land resource