Remote Sensing of Land Use and Land Cover: Principles and Applications

by Chandra P. Giri (Editor)

Overview

Filling the need for a comprehensive book that covers both theory and application, Remote Sensing of Land Use and Land Cover: Principles and Applications provides a synopsis of how remote sensing can be used for land-cover characterization, mapping, and monitoring from the local to the global scale. With contributions by leading scientists from around the world, this well-structured volume offers an international perspective on the science, technologies, applications, and future needs of remote sensing of land cover and land use.

After an overview of the key concepts and history of land-use and land-cover mapping, the book discusses the relationship between land cover and land use and addresses the land-cover classification system. It then presents state-of-the-art methods and techniques in data acquisition, preprocessing, image interpretation, and accuracy assessment for land-use and land-cover characterization and mapping.

Case studies from around the world illustrate land-cover applications at global, continental, and national scales. These examples use multiple data sources and provide in-depth understanding of land cover and land-cover dynamics in multiple spatial, thematic, and temporal resolutions. Looking to the future, the book also identifies new frontiers in land-cover mapping and forecasting.

The availability and accessibility of accurate and timely land-cover data sets play an important role in many global change studies, highlighting the need for better land-use and land-cover change information at multiple scales. A synthesis of current knowledge in remote sensing of land-use and land-cover science, this book promotes more effective use of Earth observation data and technology to assess, monitor, and manage land resources.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781420070743
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/02/2012
Series:	Remote Sensing Applications Series
Pages:	480
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Chandra P. Giri, PhD, is a research physical scientist at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)/Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, where he leads the International Land Cover and Biodiversity program. He is also a guest/adjunct faculty member at South Dakota State University. Prior to this, Dr. Giri worked for Columbia University in New York, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Asian Institute of Technology, and the Forest Department of Nepal. He has experience working in the private sector, academia, government, and international organizations at national, continental, and global levels in different parts of the world. He also serves as an expert in national and international working groups. Dr. Giri has more than 50 scientific publications to his credit and has received several awards from USGS, NASA, and other organizations.

Table of Contents

Overview: Brief Overview of Remote Sensing of Land Cover. History of Land-Cover Mapping. Basic Principles: Semantic Issues in Land-Cover Analysis: Representation, Analysis, and Visualization. Overview of Land-Cover Classifications and Their Interoperability. Revisiting Land-Cover Mapping Concepts. Evaluating Land-Cover Legends Using the UN Land-Cover Classification System. Long-Term Satellite Data Records for Land-Cover Monitoring. Preprocessing: Need for Sensor Calibration. Classification Trees and Mixed Pixel Training Data. Comparison between New Digital Image Classification Methods and Traditional Methods for Land-Cover Mapping. Land-Cover Change Detection. Supervised Classification Approaches for the Development of Land-Cover Time Series. Forest-Cover Change Detection Using Support Vector Machines. Global Land-Cover Map Validation Experiences: Toward the Characterization of Uncertainty. Role of Remote Sensing for Land-Use and Land-Cover Change Modeling. Application Examples: Operational Service Demonstration for Global Land-Cover Mapping: The GlobCover and GlobCorine Experiences for 2005 and 2009. Continental and Regional Approaches for Improving Land-Cover Maps of Africa. Land-Cover Mapping in Tropical Asia. Land Cover and Its Change in Europe: 1990–2006. North American Land-Change Monitoring System. The Application of Medium-Resolution MERIS Satellite Data for Continental Land-Cover Mapping over South America: Results and Caveats. Mapping Land-Cover and Land-Use Changes in China. An Approach to Assess Land-Cover Trends in the Conterminous United States (1973–2000). Is Africa Losing Its Natural Vegetation? Monitoring Trajectories of Land-Cover Change Using Landsat Imagery. Looking Ahead: The NASA Land-Cover and Land-Use Change Program: Research Agenda and Progress (2005–2011). Building Saliency, Legitimacy, and Credibility toward Operational Global and Regional Land-Cover Observations and Assessments in the Context of International Processes and Observing Essential Climate Variables. Index.

Editorial Reviews

"Dr. Giri carefully selected and examined each contribution and created a well-structured volume in order to address the issues of land cover from the viewpoints of science, technology, practical application and future needs. This comprehensive approach presents the readers with both a systematic view of the field and a detailed knowledge of a particular topic."
—From the Foreword by Qihao Weng, PhD, Hawthorn Woods, Indiana

"… this book certainly met its objectives to present a comprehensive examination of one important and complex topic: land use and land cover. … valuable because it brings many key aspects of this topic under one cover. It will be a great addition to any personal library and a good choice for reading materials in seminar courses. … the editor and contributors make this book a success by presenting overviews, principles, applications, and future opportunities."
—Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing, November 2013

From the Publisher