A stochastic, spatially explicit method for assessing the impact of land cover classification error on distributed hydrologic modeling is presented. One-hundred land cover realizations were created by systematically altering the North American Landscape Characterization land cover data according to the dataset’s misclassification matrix. The matrix indicates the probability of errors of omissio...

A framework for the identification and monitoring of forest clearcuts and their regeneration is presented. LANDSAT digital data are classified to detect clearcuts and their major regeneration components, including brush, grass, bare soil, and conifer. Historical LANDSAT digital data are used to provide a changedetection analysis of forest conditions. Area summaries of land cover are obtained fo...

In press: Frontiers in Ecology and Environment In a nutshell:-An encouraging trend is ecological research conducted along the urban-rural gradient.-But, clear definitions and quantitative metrics are needed to place research more precisely within the landscape context.-Ecologists should measure the degree of human modification by metrics that capture important ecological processes and land use/...

The paper investigated the application of MODIS data for mapping regional land cover at moderate resolutions (250 and 500 m), for regional conservation purposes. Land cover maps were generated for two major conservation areas (Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem—GYE, USA and the Pará State, Brazil) using MODIS data and decision tree classifications. The MODIS land cover products were evaluated using ...

Accurate characterization of the direction of land change is a neglected aspect of land dynamics. Knowledge on direction of historical land change can be useful information when understanding relative influence of different land-change drivers is of interest. In this study, we present a novel perspective on land-change analysis by focusing on directionality of change. To this end, we employed M...

In this article we illustrate how fine-grained longitudinal analyses of land holding and land use among forest peasant households in an Amazonian village can enrich our understanding of the poverty/land cover nexus. We examine the dynamic links in shifting cultivation systems among asset poverty, land use, and land cover in a community where poverty is persistent and primary forests have been r...

Widespread anthropogenic land cover change over the last five centuries has influenced the global climate system through both biogeochemical and biophysical processes. Models indicate that warming from carbon emissions associated with land cover conversion has been partially offset by cooling from elevated albedo, but considerable uncertainty remains partly because of uncertainty in model treat...

Over recent years, remotely sensed data and spatial analysis techniques by providing timely and relatively inexpensive information, has proved useful for inventorying and motoring of widelife habitat in protected areas. To investigate on land cover pattern and the land use change in the Pendjari Biosphere Reserve , a time series of satellite imageries including LANDSAT TM and SPOT XS were used ...

The use of post-classification change methods for the analysis of land cover change provides intuitive and potentially reliable results. A recurring problem is the difference in land cover nomenclature that can occur over time or across space when multiple data sources are required. Building on work that uses category semantics as a foundation for reasoning with land cover classes, this paper u...

Information about land cover and land use is needed for a wide range of applications such as nature protection and biodiversity, forest and water management, urban and transport planning, natural hazard prevention and mitigation, monitoring of agricultural policies and economic land use modelling. A number of different remotely-sensed global land cover products are available but studies have sh...