remote sensing for mapping and monitoring land-cover and land-use change

1
Abstract Remote sensing for mapping and monitoring land-cover and land-use change Paul Treitz * Department of Geography, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada K7L 3N6 Information about land cover and land use is a very important component of the planning process as it can contribute to the debate on the current arrangements and patterns and the need to modify land use as part of a regional plan, a resource development or management project, an environmental planning exercise, or as a baseline study of a region. Planners may seek to suggest modifications to land-use patterns to achieve some social or economic outcomes, or as part of an environmental conservation or sustainability project, or to avoid some predicted future unwanted consequences. Access to accurate land-use maps can assist planners and the enterprise of planning. It is in this context that remote sensing is able to contribute. The purpose of this monograph is to present an overview and critique of the growing field of remote sensing as it applies to the mapping and monitoring of land- cover and land-use at a range of spatial and temporal scales. The ability of remote sensing to contribute to the mandate of planners and managers has changed significantly over the last decade. Satellite data are now available that can be used to map and monitor change from continental to local scales and over daily to weekly temporal scales. With the recent launch of satellites capable of collecting data that is comparable to aerial platforms, there is an enhanced capability of identifying change at small spatial scales. Similarly, advances in image processing, database management and spatial analysis tools have enhanced our ability to analyse these data for depicting land-cover and land-use change. Here, remote sensing technologies are described along with methods of analysing remote sensing data for detecting change at local, regional and continental scales. It is this diverse range of scales of observation and analysis that are now key to mapping and monitoring both anthropogenic and natural, and dramatic and incremental change. These aspects are demonstrated using case studies with different objectives and applied at different scales. 0305-9006/$ - see front matter q 2003 Elseiver Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S0305-9006(03)00062-X Progress in Planning 61 (2004) 267 www.elsevier.com/locate/pplann * Corresponding author. Fax: þ 1-613-533-6122. E-mail address: [email protected] (P. Treitz).

Upload: paul-treitz

Post on 14-Sep-2016

214 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Abstract

Remote sensing for mapping and monitoring

land-cover and land-use change

Paul Treitz*

Department of Geography, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada K7L 3N6

Information about land cover and land use is a very important component of the planning

process as it can contribute to the debate on the current arrangements and patterns and the

need to modify land use as part of a regional plan, a resource development or management

project, an environmental planning exercise, or as a baseline study of a region. Planners

may seek to suggest modifications to land-use patterns to achieve some social or economic

outcomes, or as part of an environmental conservation or sustainability project, or to avoid

some predicted future unwanted consequences. Access to accurate land-use maps can

assist planners and the enterprise of planning. It is in this context that remote sensing is

able to contribute. The purpose of this monograph is to present an overview and critique of

the growing field of remote sensing as it applies to the mapping and monitoring of land-

cover and land-use at a range of spatial and temporal scales. The ability of remote sensing

to contribute to the mandate of planners and managers has changed significantly over the

last decade. Satellite data are now available that can be used to map and monitor change

from continental to local scales and over daily to weekly temporal scales. With the recent

launch of satellites capable of collecting data that is comparable to aerial platforms, there

is an enhanced capability of identifying change at small spatial scales. Similarly, advances

in image processing, database management and spatial analysis tools have enhanced our

ability to analyse these data for depicting land-cover and land-use change. Here, remote

sensing technologies are described along with methods of analysing remote sensing data

for detecting change at local, regional and continental scales. It is this diverse range of

scales of observation and analysis that are now key to mapping and monitoring both

anthropogenic and natural, and dramatic and incremental change. These aspects are

demonstrated using case studies with different objectives and applied at different scales.

0305-9006/$ - see front matter q 2003 Elseiver Ltd. All rights reserved.

doi:10.1016/S0305-9006(03)00062-X

Progress in Planning 61 (2004) 267

www.elsevier.com/locate/pplann

* Corresponding author. Fax: þ1-613-533-6122.

E-mail address: [email protected] (P. Treitz).