Shahid Ahmad Dar

University of Kashmir · Department of Environmental Science

Globally, urban wetlands are facing immense pressure from land use land cover changes (LULCCs) and associated water quality degradation that is severely affecting the trophic status of these ecosystems. This study analyzed water quality degradation resulting from land system changes in the vicinity of Khushalsar, an urban Wetland , in Srinagar City...

The knowledge on urban ecosystem dynamics is being increasingly felt due to unprecedented symptoms arising out of urbanization. This study is aimed to assess land use-land cover changes (LULCCs) around a wetland ecosystem using high spatial resolution CORONA and Google Basemap satellite imageries. The imageries were processed by digitizing land cov...

Wetlands provide various valuable ecosystem services and play a significant role in water supplies, livelihoods, and irrigation of farmlands. Keeping in view the growing pollution and anthropogenic stresses on aquatic ecosystems, we assessed pollution sources in three urban wetlands of Srinagar, India. Environmetric techniques, such as two-way Anal...

This study examined the current trophic state based on integrated analysis of land use land cover changes (LULCCs), morphometry, bathymetry, and water quality of a semi-urban wetland. The analysis of satellite data indicated that the wetland has lost an area of ~93 ha from 1980 to 2017. During the same period, the urban area within the wetland incr...

Sustainability in river bed mining is emerging as a sensible yet unexplored area of research. This study assessed the socioeconomic and environmental implications of mining operations in the River Jhelum of NorthWestern Kashmir Himalaya. To achieve the objectives of the study, surveys, focal group discussions, and questionnaires were used. Further,...

Understanding sedimentary deposits in wetlands is crucial for their effective management. In this study, we used an integrated approach to estimate the radiocarbon (14C) chronology, sedimentation rate, and nutrient dynamics of the Khushalsar wetland in the Kashmir Himalaya. A UWITEC gravity corer was used to retrieve a 60 cm sediment core from the...

Macroinvertebrate assemblages associated with six aquatic macrophyte species were investigated in Nigeen Lake of Kashmir valley, Jammu and Kashmir. Across the lake surface, four locations were selected for collection of the aquatic macrophytes. The macrophytes were collected in plastic bags, labelled, and brought to laboratory for further analysis....

Background Understanding the patterns of pesticide use is important in protecting the environment and farmer's health for improvement of sustainability in chemical pest control. Studies on the knowledge and awareness of pesticides by farmers are often incomplete. Therefore, our study aimed at investigating the awareness and knowledge of pesticides...

Wetland degradation through a diverse spectrum of anthropogenic stressors worldwide has taken a heavy toll on the health of wetlands. This study examined the health of a semi-urban wetland Bodsar, located in the Kashmir Himalaya using multicriteria analysis approach assimilating data on land use land cover (LULC), landscape fragmentation, soil loss...

The potential impacts of dredging on the physicochemical characteristics of sediments are poorly understood in the Himalayas. The present study was conducted to examine the impacts of dredging activities on the sediment physicochemical characteristics of Brari Nambal wetland located in Kashmir Himalaya. A UWITEC gravity corer was employed to retrie...

Environmental context: While it is known that aerosol deposition causes exacerbated melt of the glaciers, information about aerosol variability and deposition in the glaciated environments in the western Himalayas is still lacking. We analysed the aerosol variability, modelled the potential aerosol sources and assessed physicochemical characteristi...

Coliform pollution for the last three decades in major river systems of the world has resulted in far ranging impacts on water quality. In this context, the present study aimed to assess the levels of indicator bacteria like total Coliform (TC), fecal Coliform (FC) and fecal Streptococcus (FS) in major watersheds of Kashmir valley. Sampling was car...

Assessing the impact of land use land cover (LULC) changes on runoff is crucial for the sustainable management of wetland catchments. This study modelled the impacts of LULC changes on runoff in three urban wetland catchments using the United States Environment Protection Agency’s Stormwater Management Model (SWMM). Land cover maps of 1980 and 2017...

A better understanding of the organic matter (OM) dynamics is a key to successful wetland management. We carried out the radiocarbon chronology (14C) and vertical distribution of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), OM, and carbon to nitrogen ratio (C/N) in the sediment core retrieved from Anchar wetland, Kashmir Himalaya. The Accelerator Mass Spectromete...

With growing water scarcity, jeopardized by climate change, springs are likely to perform a vital role in meeting the domestic water demand in future. This paper examines the water quality status of Kashmir valley springs in relation to their geographical location, regional hydrogeological conditions, anthropogenic activities and climate change. We...

Water quality monitoring is an important tool in determining the safety and suitability of water for various desired and intended uses. The procedures involved in the evaluation of water quality are numerous and multifaceted. Therefore, taking into consideration the specific objectives of water quality monitoring, sampling design is of vital import...

High altitude lakes (HALs) of Kashmir Himalaya are the important ecosystems in the mountain ecology of the broader Hindukush Himalayan region. This article provides a comprehensive information about the plankton (phytoplankton and periphyton) assemblages, water quality (WQ), bathymetry, morphometry, and land use land cover (LULC) of some select hig...

In Kashmir Valley, wetland ecosystems cover an area of 42663 ha comprising nearly 2.67% of the entire geographical area. These wetland ecosystems form an indispensable portion of natural landscape and play a key part in maintenance of environmental quality. These wetlands are harbingers of pristine biodiversity and provide various ecological and ec...

Freshwater springs are inimitable aquatic environments that significantly subsidize local and regional biodiversity because of their complexity of spring types and associated habitats. Springs have historically been used by people for drinking, cultural, irrigation, bathing, swimming, washing, scientific experiments, livestock purposes, and fisheri...

An assessment of aerial entomofauna is of utmost significance which offers inputs as part of the understanding for conservation and management of biodiversity. This study provides insights into aerial entomofauna dynamics in different habitats of Kashmir Himalaya. A random sampling design over line transects of 100 m were used for entomofauna colle...

In the present era of growing population, increased use of water has resulted in the deterioration of quality of water bodies. Increase in pollution may add to the global water stress. Therefore, the need of the time is to clean water bodies by using sustainable and innovative technologies. Biofilm based technologies are of tremendous potential in...

The lakes of Kashmir Valley show multiple signs of deterioration. This study integrated multiple datasets pertaining to the land system, lake bathymetry and water quality in GIS environment to limnologically characterize the Nigeen Lake. Settlements in the vicinity of the lake were mapped using high-resolution satellite data of 2003 and 2016. Lake...

Wetlands are the most diverse, highly dynamic, productive, and ecologically sensitive areas in Earth. In Kashmir Himalaya, Srinagar city is bestowed with a large number of picturesque wetlands. These wetlands are important in regulating ecosystem services such as providing fresh water supplies, food products, fisheries, water purification, harbor b...