Remote sensing and GIS based approach to evaluate the impact Remote sensing and GIS based approach to evaluate the impact of stone quarrying and crushing activities on land resources of stone quarrying and crushing activities on land resources

Abstract The land is one of the most treasures to support life, like food, fibre, medicine, and minerals, etc. Stone quarrying is one of the key elements which supports socio-economic development and industrial expansion. RS and GIS play an important role in environmental assessment to monitor the stone quarries and related activities for time to time. The present study was carried out to evaluate the impact of stone quarrying and crushing activities (SQCA) on land resources. Therefore, matrix change analysis of 2021, 2015, 2008 and 2003 were used for change detection. High-resolution Google Earth Pro images were used for the assessment of spatial as well as temporal changes caused by stone quarries and associated activities, which result in land use/land cover changes. The results show that the temporal changes in and around the quarrying sites over 18 years have contributed to dynamic changes in land use/ land cover. According to the study, damaging mining operations have grown in the area. SQCA are mostly carried out on agricultural land as well as wasteland, which decreases about 18.44% and 59.89% during the study period. Abandoned pits left without reclamation converted to derelict ponds degrading the landscape and becoming dangerous for humans and the ecosystem.


Introduction
R ocks play a crucial role in a country's industrial development, social progress, and economic prosperity. Rocks are finite and non-renewable in nature. Once a mineral was extracted from the soil, it was lost incessantly, not just for present generations but also for all future generations [1]. Mineral resource mining and exploitation have a significant influence on water, biological resources, air, and land, as well as the socio-economic condition of the surrounding population. It primary focus is the environmental challenges, like these the surface mining industries of Jhansi are facing nowadays. The extent of the impact depends on the type and intensity of mining operations, as well as the geological and geomorphological context. It causes significant damage to the earth's landscape and ecological ecosystems [2].
Quarrying is necessary to obtain stones not provided through agricultural or artificial sources from land. Since prehistoric times, stone mining and crushing have been a social activity. To remove required materials, modern stone quarrying and crushing procedures include excavating or blasting for rock formations. Mining activities of any kind typically have a negative influence on land resources and the topography of mining sites. Unscientific quarrying and crushing endangers the ecosystem, reducing natural resources and biodiversity. The environment in and surrounding quarrying operations is being obliterated by the problems of abandoned material dumps [3]. Quarrying and open-cast mining entail the excavation of massive pits on the ground surface to recover surficial and superficial deposits, as well as the blasting of surface rocks and inorganic deposits to remove the material. The degree to which these processes are mechanised is largely determined by the value of the mineral resources and the output quality and quantity. These actions leave a lasting imprint on the environment [4]. The effects of quarrying can eventually result in larger-scale topographical changes, environmental changes, and biodiversity loss. As a result, it is critical to put in place a solid exploration, exploitation, and development strategy to get the most out of minerals and rocks. From prehistoric times, humanity has exploited rocks as the primary construction material from the earth's crust.
Land Resources refer to a clearly defined region of the earth's surface that encompasses all components of the biosphere closely overhead or underneath the surface, such as climate, landforms, surface hydrology/sedimentary layers, groundwater and geo-hydrological reserve, built-up, vegetation and livestock [5]. Every human settlement requires land as a basic natural resource. It is the foundation of key financial activity and serves as a valuable resource for farmers. The land is mankind's most precious resource; it supplies minerals, medicine, fibre, food, etc. It is made up of a combination of inorganic and organic components and serves as a landfill for much of the trash produced by modern society. The availability of land resources has a long-term impact on socioeconomic growth. Land resources are crucial in affecting economic, social, and cultural advancement. Land resource definition is based on the interpretation of connected physical qualities as a basis for human activity, and dynamic factors of both the natural environment and the occupying civilization are taken into account in each given case. Because of the differences in both situations, particularly man's action in time and space, land has different purposes and/or values [6].
Remote sensing and GPS data integrated with geographic information systems (GIS) may help with a synoptic examination/analysis of how the earth's systems are changing at local, regional, and global stages. As a result, there was an opportunity for quick and precise access to data needed to examine such changes [7]. Remote sensing is the process of extracting statistics about the features presented on earth's surface from space, utilising electromagnetic radiation reflected or emitted from the earth's surface in one or more areas of the electromagnetic spectrum [8]. In order to capture reactions depending on diverse features existing on the earth's surface, remote sensing equipment's are utilised. The captured notes are then transported to a station for additional processing, interpretation, and analysing of data. To comprehend the recorded interpretations, produce information on the different land-use/land-cover aspects based on size, tone, shape, texture, and pattern, among other factors [8,9].
Because of its multispectral mode, synoptic perspective, and repeated coverage, the employment of remote sensing/GIS in stone quarrying and crushing activities as part of mining environmental research offers distinct benefits. Thanks to the advancement of high-resolution multispectral satellite data, imaging spectrometry is a viable approach for investigating the environmental impacts of stone quarrying and crushing activities. Remote sensing techniques have been effectively employed to monitor land use changes owing to opencast strip mining, the influence of underground mining and subsidence, the development of mine waste dumping, deforestation, and erosion related to mining operations [10]. Remote sensing with space-borne sensors was the gold standard for getting repeatable and synoptic measurements of spectral behaviour in a variety of situations. i.e., changes in land resources, soil, atmosphere and water, etc. Integrated GIS and remote sensing have previously been used to map the distribution of a variety of living, as well as their landscapes, ecosystems, bio-climatic conditions, etc.
[11e16]. Remote sensing and GIS tools are also very much effective in evaluating the temporal changes in land resources.

Materials and methods
The materials and methods are the actions used to identify or analyse the problem/information about the study and preparation of datasets to help in deriving the appropriate solution to the problem. The quantitative method was used to assess the impact of stone quarrying and crushing activities on land resources. In this study, different land resource features were classified using multi-temporal google earth images. The resulting classified land resource features were compared accordingly. The following methodology was adopted to evaluate the impact of stone quarrying and crushing on land resources.

Study area
Jhansi district lies in the south-west portion of Uttar Pradesh, India. There are five tehsils under Jhansi District viz., Jhansi, Mauranipur, Moth, Garautha, and Tehrauli. The northeastern part of tehsil Jhansi is primarily underlain by igneous rocks of Bundelkhand cratons consisting of gneiss and granites, which is quite suitable for quarry business. In this study, the impact of stone quarrying and crushing activities on land resources have been evaluated in a part of Jhansi tehsil (latitude: 25.440906Ne25.471530N and longitude: 78.651440E to 78.697028E) and were determined using google earth images (Fig. 1).

Software used for the study
Google Earth Pro, ERDAS Imagine, ArcGIS, and MS Office software were used for data processing, thematic mapping, and the creation of geodatabase to evaluate the impact of stone quarrying and crushing activities on land resources.

Data collection
Due to the availability of high-resolution satellite images, modest tools and software such as Google Maps, Bing Maps, and Google Earth may be utilised efficiently for environmental research. Google Earth may be utilised in a variety of fields, including transportation, urban planning, time series analysis, and real-time research analysis using the Global Positioning System (GPS), environmental, climatic studies, and more [17].   [18]. The study area was clipped by using the masking tool in ArcMap s/w.

Multi-date google earth images of the study area
The completion of the raster processing of raw data is followed by clipping of the study area for the different years. The final clipped temporal google earth images for 2003, 2008, 2015, and 2021 were stored for the study (Fig. 2).

Classification of land resources
Land use/land cover Level e II classification scheme developed by NRSC/ISRO [19] has been used for the classification of land resource features in a predefined cluster group of stone quarrying and crushing sites. As per this classification scheme for land resource features, built-up (urban), built-up (rural), mining/quarrying activities, agriculture plantation, cropland, forest/tree outside forest, waterbodies and wastelands including scrub and stony waste were mapped, for last 18 year (2003e2021), from geo-referenced multi-temporal google earth images with manual digitization method/technique using ArcMap software.

Change matrix analysis
The impact of SQCA on land resources was evaluated based on change matrix analysis. The amount of change refers to the extent to which the LULC size has grown or shrunk. A negative score indicates a reduction in LULC size, whereas a positive value indicates an increase in LULC size [20].      (Table 2). Figure 6 shows the thematic map of spatial distribution.  (Table 3). Figure 8 shows the thematic map of spatial distribution.    (Table 4). Figure 10 shows the thematic map of spatial distribution.    The results show that the major conversion of land resources was from wastelands (59.89% in 2003, 36.24% in 2008, and 22.23% in 2015) and cropland (18.44% in 2003, 9.69% in 2008, and 5.15% in 2015) to SQC activities in 2021. In conformity with the findings, destructive quarrying activities have been increased. These increments has remunerated by the loss or decrease of different land use features. Quarrying operations, as well as the development of storage facilities, office facilities and the opening of access roads to the quarries, all contribute to the loss of land resources [21e24]. As the quarry grows, terraces form, leaving visible scars of great colour contrast, diminishing the landscape's aesthetic appeal and degrading the scenic quality of places [25e28]. Dust and noise from crushing stone and quarrying activities alter existing ecosystems, causing local hydrological and geological regimes to be disrupted [29]. In addition, these activities alter the substratum, and landscape patterns, destroy natural habitat, disturb natural succession, and alter genetic resources [30]. Increased SQC activities have resulted in a variety of social challenges and conflicts in many parts of the world, including issues of land use, socio-cultural survival and community displacement, cultural site damage, self-determination, resource control, and the formation of ghost towns [31]. Careful planning with suitable mitigation measures can be converted the local landscape of mining sites into a vegetation cover, water and wildlife century, etc.

Conclusions
Remote sensing and GIS, with the help of google earth images, are very useful to evaluate the impact  of SQCA on land resources. The study concludes that most of the area of agricultural land and wastelands takes has been converted into SQCA for the past 18 years (2003e2021). Most of the wastelands have been transformed into derelict ponds like appearance as a result of rigorous quarrying. These will result in environmental degradation, which can be dangerous to both humans and the surrounding ecosystem.

Ethical statement
The authors stated that the study was accompanied according to ethical standards.

Funding body
None.

Conflicts of interest
The authors asserted no conflict of interest.