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Land-cover change detection

January 1, 2012

Land cover is the biophysical material on the surface of the earth. Land-cover types include grass, shrubs, trees, barren, water, and man-made features. Land cover changes continuously.  The rate of change can be either dramatic and abrupt, such as the changes caused by logging, hurricanes and fire, or subtle and gradual, such as regeneration of forests and damage caused by insects (Verbesselt et al., 2001).  Previous studies have shown that land cover has changed dramatically during the past sevearal centuries and that these changes have severely affected our ecosystems (Foody, 2010; Lambin et al., 2001). Lambin and Strahlers (1994b) summarized five types of cause for land-cover changes: (1) long-term natural changes in climate conditions, (2) geomorphological and ecological processes, (3) human-induced alterations of vegetation cover and landscapes, (4) interannual climate variability, and (5) human-induced greenhouse effect.  Tools and techniques are needed to detect, describe, and predict these changes to facilitate sustainable management of natural resources.

Publication Year 2012
Title Land-cover change detection
DOI 10.1201/b11964-14
Authors Xuexia Chen, Chandra Giri, James Vogelmann
Publication Type Book Chapter
Publication Subtype Book Chapter
Index ID 70042436
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center
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