Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus) Habitat Evaluation in Asola-Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary, Delhi Using Multi-Criteria Analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55863/ijees.2024.3179Keywords:
Antelope, Habitat suitability, Geospatial technology, Analytical hierarchy process, Conservation, Management, AravaliAbstract
This study aims to assess Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus Pallas) habitat in Asola-Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS), Delhi, using Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA). Nilgai is endemic to the Peninsular Indian and Indus divisions of the Indian sub-region in the Asian Indo-Malayan Region. It is a species of least conservation concern in its native range. The study was carried out in the Asola-Bhatti WLS, Delhi, located in the south-eastern part of the southern ridge, the south-east boundary spreading up to the Delhi-Haryana border. The Sanctuary covers an area of about 32.71 km2. The vegetation is described as semi-arid thorny scrub, while it is designated as Northern Tropical Desert Thorn Forest (6BC1) and scrub as Ziziphus scrub (6BDS1). Nilgai habitat suitability in the study area was evaluated using MCA and a linear additive model using Cartosat-1, IRS P6 LISS-IV, and GoogleEarth data. MCA of Nilgai habitat was done using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) through empirical judgement of preferences and an acceptable result was obtained, i.e., 0.019, less than 0.1 which is considered as a standard consistency ratio. A model was processed on the reclassified thematic layers by assigning them weightage according to the preferred habitat of nilgai. Thus, 53% (17.28 km2) area of the entire Sanctuary was demonstrated as highly suitable followed by 27% (8.98 km2) as suitable, 8% (2.50 km2) as moderately suitable, and 12% (3.95 km2) as least suitable area for nilgai. From the results of the study, it can be concluded that all the predictor variables derived from satellite imagery demonstrated the usefulness of geospatial technology for habitat modelling.
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