Resource information
This study investigates dynamics of land-use shifts, agricultural land-use, and its intensity in relation with urbanization and other factors in Jammu & Kashmir, a mountainous state of India. Results revealed an unfavourable increasing trend in the undesirable ecology class (barren) and declining trend in desirable land-use (forests, pastures and miscellaneous trees) which are likely to have serious long-term ecological implications. Inter-sectoral budgeting analysis revealed that shifts in land are occurring from desirable towards undesirable ecological sector. The regression estimates revealed negative role of urbanization and land scarcity in improvement of cropping intensity. Agricultural density and rice area are significant determinants of unproductive land-use. The pressures on the state’s land resources will be high in future and may be seriously felt owing to various mountain specificities characterizing J&K state. The study emphasized on the evolution of suitable institutional mechanism for scientific management, and conservation of land resources in the state.
