Linking Climate Stress with Vegetation and Wetland Degradation: A Geospatial Assessment of Eco-Resilience in the Barind Tract, Bangladesh
摘要
The Barind Tract, a semi-arid landscape in northwestern Bangladesh, is undergoing a significant ecological transformation due to the increasing impacts of climate change. Wetlands and vegetation cover, crucial components to regional biodiversity and agricultural sustainability, are particularly vulnerable to transformative climatic stressors. With climate change becoming a global concern, understanding its impacts on vegetation and wetland dynamics in the Barind Tract, a droughtprone area in Bangladesh, is critical. While it applies an increase in climate stress with a strong correlation under stable stress (0.85) and moderate correlation under increasing stress (0.69) between climate stress and NDVI, it uses multi-temporal geospatial analysis and correlation modeling to identify significant links between climate stress and the loss of vegetation. Between 2020 and 2024, a significant increasing trend of recovery was observed, with areas of decreasing stress quadrupling, signifying potential for ecological recovery. The study also states that chronic environmental stress on the climate leads to land deterioration, putting regional diversity and sustainability at risk. The study thus recommends targeted interventions to enhance eco-resilience, including the conservation of wetlands, afforestation, and adaptive land-use planning. This research, by establishing the connection between climate stress and degradation patterns, will form the basis for sustainable strategies and policy responses that will support health and resilience over the long term in climate-vulnerable landscapes.