Remotely sensing the spatial and temporal land cover changes in Eastern Mau forest reserve and Lake Nakuru drainage basin,Kenya

This study aimed at characterizing land cover dynamics for four decades in Eastern Mau forest and Lake Nakuru basin, Kenya. The specific objectives were to: (i) identify and map the major land cover types in 1973, 1985, 2000 and 2011; (ii) detect and determine the magnitude, rates and nature of the land cover changes that had occurred between these dates, and; (iii) establish the spatial and temporal distribution of these changes. Land cover types were discriminated through partitioning, hybrid classification and spatial reclassification of multi-temporal Landsat imagery. The land cover products were then validated and overlaid in post-classification comparison to detect the changes between 1973 and 2011. The accuracies of the land cover maps for 1973, 1985, 2000 and 2011 were 88%, 95%, 80% and 89% respectively. Six land cover classes, namely forests-shrublands, grasslands, croplands, built-up lands, bare lands and water bodies, were mapped. Forests-shrublands dominated in 1973, 1985 and 2000 covering about 1067 km², 893 km² and 797 km² respectively, but were surpassed by croplands (953 km²) in 2011. Bare lands occupied the least area that varied between 2 km² and 7 km² during this period. Overall, forests-shrublands and grasslands decreased by 428 km² and 258 km² at the annual average rates of 1% each, whereas croplands and built-up lands expanded by 660 km² and 24 km² at the annual rates of 6% and 16% respectively. The key hotspots of these changes were distributed in all directions of the study area, but at different times. Therefore, policies that integrate restoration and conservation of natural ecosystems with enhancement of agricultural productivity are strongly recommended. This will ensure environmental sustainability and socio-economic well-being in the area. Future research needs to assess the impacts of the land cover changes on ecosystem services and to project the future patterns of land cover changes.     

The simulation of LUCC based on Logistic-CA-Markov model in Qilian Mountain area,China

The Qilian mountain area was examined for using the Logistic-CA-Markov coupling model combined with GIS spatial analyst technology to research the transformation of LUCC, driving force system and simulate future tendency of variation. Results show that:(1) Woodland area decreased by 12.55%, while grassland, cultivated land, and settlement areas increased by 0.22%, 7.92%, and 0.03%, respectively, from 1986 to 2014. During the period of 1986 to 2000, forest degradation in the middle section of the mountain area decreased by 1,501.69 km~2. Vegetation cover area improved, with a net increase of grassland area of 38.12 km~2 from 2000 to 2014.(2) For constructing the system driving force, the best simulation scale was 210m×210m. Based on logistic regression analysis, the contribution(weight) of composite driving forces to land use and cover change was obtained, and the weight value was more objectively compared with AHP and MCE method.(3) In the natural scenarios, it is predicted that land use and cover distribution maps of Qilian mountain area in 2028 and 2042, and the Lee-Sallee index test was adopted. Over the next 27 years(2015–2042), farmland, woodland, grassland, settlement areas show an increasing trend, especially settlements with an obvious change of 0.56%. The area of bare land will decrease by 0.89%. Without environmental degradation, tremendous structural change of LUCC will not occur, and typical characteristic of the vertical zone of the mountain would remain. Farmland and settlement areas will increase, but only in the vicinity of Qilian and Sunan counties.     

半城市化地区生态系统服务对土地利用/覆被变化的响应——以厦门市集美区为例

半城市化地区是在快速城市化进程中产生的一种过渡地域类型, 其土地利用特征表现为土地利用竞争和矛盾剧烈, 土地利用变化迅速的特征。土地利用/覆被的变化改变生态系统的结构与功能, 是对生态系统服务产生胁迫的主要驱动力之一。本文以厦门市集美半城市化地区为例, 分析半城市化地区生态系统服务对土地利用/覆被变化的响应, 基于对2007 年中国陆地生态系统服务价值当量修正的方法, 对半城市化地区生态系统服务价值(ESV)变化作出评估, 并通过土地系统和生态系统二者的耦合变化关系探讨生态系统服务对土地利用/覆被变化的响应过程。结果表明:①近20 年来, 集美半城市化地区生态系统服务价值总量随着土地利用强度增加呈现波动性变化, 总体上呈现负相关关系。②调节服务和文化服务是最主要的生态系统服务类型;土地利用强度与调节服务和支持服务呈现显著的负相关关系。③随着半城市化地区的快速城市化发展, 土地利用类型急剧转化, 城市建设用地大量增加, 预计集美半城市化地区未来ESV将继续降低, 可采取生态综合整治措施减缓ESV降低趋势。     

Land use and land cover change processes in China's eastern Loess Plateau

Using Landsat remote sensing images, we analyzed changes in each land use type and transitions among different land use types during land use and land cover change (LUCC) in Ningwu County, located in the eastern Loess Plateau of China, from 1990 to 2010. We found that grassland, woodland, and farmland were the main land use types in the study area, and the area of each type changed slightly from 1990 to 2010, whereas the area of water, construction land, and unused land increased greatly. For the whole area, the net change and total change were insignificant due to weak human activity intensity in most of the study area, and the LUCC was dominated by quasi-balanced two-way transitions from 1990 to 2010. The insignificant overall amount of LUCC appears to have resulted from offsetting of rapid increases in population, economic growth, and the implementation of a program to return farmland to woodland and grassland in 2000. This program converted more farmland into woodland and grassland from 2000 to 2010 than from 1990 to 2000, but reclamation of woodland and grassland for use as farmland continued from 2000 to 2010, and is a cause for concern to the local government.     

Modeling Spatially and Temporally Complex Land‐Cover Change: The Case of Western Honduras*

This article presents an econometric analysis of land‐cover change in western Honduras. Ground‐truthed satellite image analysis indicates that between 1987 and 1996 net reforestation occurred in the 1,015‐km² study region. While some reforestation can be attributed to a 1987 ban on logging, the area of reforestation greatly exceeds that of previously clear‐cut areas. Further, new area was also deforested between 1987 and 1996. Thus, the observed land‐cover changes represent a complex mosaic of changing land‐use patterns across time and space. The analysis contributes to the literature on land‐cover change modeling in that: (1) it compares two econometric approaches to capture complex and often bidirectional changes in land cover from 1987 to 1996 as a function of agricultural suitability and transportation costs, and (2) it addresses techniques to identify and correct for spatial autocorrelation in a categorical regression framework.     

Spatiotemporal changes in agricultural land cover in Nepal over the last 100 years

In order to advance land use and land cover change (LUCC) research in Nepal, it is essential to reconstruct both the spatiotemporal distribution of agricultural land cover as well as scenarios that can explain these changes at the national and regional levels. Because of rapid population growth, the status of agricultural land in Nepal has changed markedly over the last 100 years. Historical data is used in this study, encompassing soils, populations, climatic variables, and topography. Data were revised to a series of 30 m grid cells utilized for agricultural land suitability and allocation models and were analyzed using a suite of advanced geographical tools. Our reconstructions for the spatiotemporal distribution of agricultural land in Nepal reveal an increasing trend between 1910 and 2010 (from 151.2 × 10² km² to 438.8 × 10² km²). This expanded rate of increase in agricultural land has varied between different eco, physiographic, and altitudinal regions of the country, significantly driven by population changes and policies over the period of this investigation. The historical dataset presented in this paper fills an existing gap in studies of agricultural land change and can be applied to other carbon cycle and climate modeling studies, as well as to impact assessments of agricultural land change in Nepal.     

Environmental changes,remote sensing,and infrastructure development: The case of Egypt's East Port Said harbour

Using Landsat TM data, this article examines the environmental impact of the East Port Said harbour project on the surrounding landscape. The optimum three-band combination and the most appropriate multispectral bands were selected to enhance the images and monitor land cover changes for the periods of 1984–1991 and 1991–2003. The results indicate that wetland areas declined from 103 km² in 1984 to 30 km² in 2003. In addition, the surface area of El-Malha Lake has shrunk from 27 km² to 18 km² over the same period. In contrast, the area covered by salt crust has increased from 11 km² in 1984 to 19 km² in 2003. Urban land use and designed cultivated lands were also significant in 2003, covering 49 km² and 71 km², respectively. The rate of shoreline change between 1984 and 2003, the period when the East Port Said harbour was constructed, was calculated. Vector data indicate that the rate of shoreline loss was ?13 m/year from 1984 to 1991 and ?15 m/year from 1991 to 2003. Despite the fact that construction of the East Port Said harbour caused significant changes in the study area, there are several factors controlling coastline and land cover changes including industrial development and fish cultivation farms.     

近30年青海贵南县土地利用与景观格局变化

基于1977、1999、2007年:三期生长季的Landsat遥感影像,利用RS、GIS及景观生态学方法,对青海省贵南县1977-2007年的土地利用/覆被进行监测.并计算土地利用转移矩阵和景观格局指数;在此基础上对研究区土地利用与景观格局动态变化进行分析.结果表明:1977-2007年间贵南县的土地利用/覆被状况发生了显著变化,草场面积总体呈现退化趋势,其中东南部芒曲镇和森多乡地区的高覆盖度草场持续退化.而木格滩地区的中覆盖度草场则经历了被开垦为耕地后又退耕还草的过程;耕地先增后减,总体呈减少趋势:另外研究区东部和南部山地地带的疏木灌林有所增加,龙羊峡水库的修建淹没了周围一些裸岩和低覆盖度草场,而2000年后政府实施的退耕还草工程也逐步见效.木格滩沙地面积被控制.30年间贵南县景观总体发生破碎化,前期破碎化程度剧烈.优势斑块呈分散趋势,景观异质性上升;后期因退耕还草等保护措施,破碎化程度有所缓和,优势斑块倾向聚集,景观内部聚合度增加.研究区景观变化是自然因素与人为因素共同作用的结果,但近几十年来人口和牲畜数量急剧增加、人类对草场乱采滥伐、不合理发展畜牧业等人为干扰因素还是占主导.     

Land cover changes in the Brazilian Cerrado and Caatinga biomes from 1990 to 2010 based on a systematic remote sensing sampling approach

The main objective of our study was to provide consistent information on land cover changes between the years 1990 and 2010 for the Cerrado and Caatinga Brazilian seasonal biomes. These areas have been overlooked in terms of land cover change assessment if compared with efforts in monitoring the Amazon rain forest. For each of the target years (1990, 2000 and 2010) land cover information was obtained through an object-based classification approach for 243 sample units (10  km × 10  km size), using (E)TM Landsat images systematically located at each full degree confluence of latitude and longitude. The images were automatically pre-processed, segmented and labelled according to the following legend: Tree Cover (TC), Tree Cover Mosaic (TCM), Other Wooded Land (OWL), Other Land Cover (OLC) and Water (W). Our results indicate the Cerrado and Caatinga biomes lost (gross loss) respectively 265,595 km² and 89,656 km² of natural vegetation (TC + OWL) between 1990 and 2010. In the same period, these areas also experienced gain of TC and OWL. By 2010, the percentage of natural vegetation cover remaining in the Cerrado was 47% and in the Caatinga 63%. The annual (net) rate of natural vegetation cover loss in the Cerrado slowed down from −0.79% yr⁻¹ to −0.44% yr⁻¹ from the 1990s to the 2000s, while in the Caatinga for the same periods the rate increased from −0.19% yr⁻¹ to −0.44% yr⁻¹. In summary, these Brazilian biomes experienced both loss and gains of Tree Cover and Other Wooded Land; however a continued net loss of natural vegetation was observed for both biomes between 1990 and 2010. The average annual rate of change in this period was higher in the Cerrado (−0.6% yr⁻¹) than in the Caatinga (−0.3% yr⁻¹).     

近5年青海省植被覆盖变化的遥感监测

This paper used five years （2001-2006） time series of MODIS NDVI images with a 1-km spatial resolution to produce a land cover map of Qinghai Province in China. A classification approach for different land cover types with special emphasis on vegetation, especially on sparse vegetation, was developed which synthesized Decision Tree Classification, Supervised Classification and Unsupervised Classification. The spatial distribution and dynamic change of vegetation cover in Qinghai from 2001 to 2006 were analyzed based on the land cover classification map and five grade elevation belts derived from Qinghai DEM. The result shows that vegetation cover in Qinghai in recent five years has been some improved and the area of vegetation was increased from 370,047 km^2 in 2001 to 374,576 km^2 in 2006. Meanwhile, vegetation cover ratio was increased by 0.63%. Vegetation cover ratio in high mountain belt is the largest （67.92%） among the five grade elevation belts in Qinghai Province. The second largest vegetation cover ratio is in middle mountain belt （61.80%）. Next, in the order of the decreasing vegetation cover ratio, the remaining grades are extreme high mountain belt （38.98%）, low mountain belt （25.55%） and flat region belt （15.46%）. The area of middle density grassland in high mountain belt is the biggest （94,003 km^2）, and vegetation cover ratio of dense grassland in middle mountain belt is the highest （32.62%）, and the increased area of dense grassland in high mountain belt is the greatest （1280 km^2）. In recent five years the conversion from sparse grass to middle density grass in high mountain belt has been the largest vegetation cover variation and the converted area is 15931 km^2.     

Determination of land salinization causes via land cover and hydrological process change detection in a typical part of Songnen Plain

Causes of land salinization were determined via land cover and hydrological process change detection in a typical part of Songnen Plain. The area of saline land increased from 4627 km² in 1980 to 5416 km² in 2000, and then decreased to 5198 km² in 2015. The transformation between saline land and other land covers happened mainly before 2000, and saline land had transformation relationship mainly with cropland, grassland, and water body. From 1979 to 2007, groundwater depth fluctuated to increase and was mainly deeper than 3.3 m. Spatially, the area of the region where groundwater depth was deeper than 3.3 m increased from 46.7% in 1980 to 84% in 2000, while the area of the region almost occupied the whole region after 2000. Precipitation and evaporation changed little, while runoff decreased substantially. Shallow groundwater, change of cropland, grassland, and water body induced from human activities and decrease of runoff and increase of irrigation and water transfer from outer basin were the main reasons for land salinization before 2000. After 2000, groundwater with relatively great depth could not exert great influence on land salinization. Protection of grassland and wetland prevented the increase of the area of saline land.     

土地利用系统转移分析方法及其应用

转移矩阵是分析土地利用变化的出发点,但是研究者们并未能从转移矩阵中获取足够的信息以分析土地利用变化的潜在过程或规律．本研究采用一种新的土地利用系统转移分析方法,以农业集约化程度较高的闽东南平和县为例,基于1996、2002和2007年3期遥感影像数据,分析土地利用变化的模式与过程,并探讨引起土地利用变化的驱动因素．研究结果表明,平和县近10a来主导土地利用类型为自然用地和农业用地;土地利用变化总体有加快的趋势;农业用地和建设用地之间存在系统转移的过程;社会经济、政策因素是研究区域土地利用变化的主要驱动力．     

太湖流域重污染区土地利用变化对生态系统服务价值的影响

通过对太湖流域重污染区1999年、2007年遥感影像数据解译结果的分析,获取了太湖流域重污染区主要土地利用类型的信息,分析了8 a来研究区内土地利用与覆被变化趋势,对区域土地利用类型的生态系统服务价值进行评估。结果表明,1999~2007年,太湖流域重污染区内耕地面积从2 033.53 km2减少到1 401.04 km2,而林地、建设用地、园地、水域总体呈增加的趋势,其中减少的耕地主要转化为建设用地。1999~2007年太湖流域重污染区的生态系统服务价值呈减少趋势,土地利用变化使研究区生态资产减少了2.40亿元,除气体调节和原材料以外,各单项服务功能的价值量均呈现递减的趋势。     

Land cover changes in the rural-urban interaction of Xi＇an region using Landsat TM/ETM data

Landsat ETM/TM data and an artificial neural network （ANN） were applied to analyse the expansion of the city of Xi＇an and land use/cover change of its surrounding area between 2000 and 2003. Supervised classification and normalized difference barren index （NDBI） were used respectively to retrieve its urban boundary. Results showed that the urban area increased by an annual rate of 12.3%, with area expansion from 253.37 km^2 in 2000 to 358.60 km^2 in 2003. Large areas of farmland in the north and southwest were converted into urban construction land. The land use/cover changes of Xi＇an were mainly caused by fast development of urban economy, population immigration from countryside, great development of infrastructure such as transportation, and huge demands for urban market. In addition, affected by the government policy of “returning farmland to woodland”, some farmland was converted into economic woodland, such as Chinese goosebeerv garden, vineyard etc.     

额尔齐斯河-斋桑湖流域近20年来土地利用/土地覆被时空演变

土地利用/土地覆被变化(LUCC)是影响生态环境和气候变化的主要驱动力之一,同时又是受其影响的结果。LUCC研究对于开展生态环境变化及气候变化的研究均具有重要的意义。针对目前境外LUCC研究中土地利用/覆被分类效率低的问题,探索一种适用于大数据量而又精度较高的分类方法。以额尔齐斯河国外部分-斋桑湖流域为研究区域,以1990年及2007年的Landsat TM/ETM+夏秋季影像以及DEM作为数据源,综合利用影像光谱、纹理信息参与到决策树构造中,进而利用决策树分类方法分别提取这两个时期的土地利用/覆被空间分布信息,最后分析两个时期的土地利用时空变化状况。实验结果表明:(1)光谱与空间纹理信息参与的决策树分类方法具有较高的分类精度;(2)两个时期的土地利用变化分析发现,近20年来该区域土地利用发生了较大的变化,耕地和灌木林地大面积减少,而低覆盖度草地和未利用地却显著增加。     

Predicting and assessing changes in NPP based on multi-scenario land use and cover simulations on the Loess Plateau

Land use/cover change(LUCC)is a major factor affecting net primary production(NPP).According to the LUCC of the Loess Plateau from 2005 to 2015,the LUCC patterns in 2025 in three scenarios were predicted by using the Future Land Use Simulation(FLUS)model.Furthermore,taking the average NPP of various land use/cover types in 16 years as the reference scale,the changes in NPP in multi-scenario simulations are predicted and an-alyzed,and the impact of different land use/cover transfers on NPP is quantified.The results are as follows:(1)The land use/cover changes greatly in the baseline and fast development scenarios,and changes relatively little in the ecological protection scenarios.(2)The changes in NPP in different scenarios reflected the significant difference in the ecological protection effect.All the three scenarios promote an NPP increase,but the ecological protection sce-nario can promote NPP increases the most.(3)The changes in NPP caused by LUCC in the three scenarios reflected the significant difference in the various land use/cover types pro-tection effect.Analyzing and predicting NPP changes in multi-scenario LUCC simulations in the future can provide a theoretical basis for decision makers to judge the future changes in ecological environments and ecological protection effects against different policy back-grounds.     

Visual assessment of the Australian Land Erodibility Model

There is a growing requirement for techniques to assess land susceptibility to wind erosion, i.e. land erodibility, over large geographic areas (>10⁴ km²). This requirement stems from a lack of wind erosion research between the field (10¹ km²) and regional scales, and a need to evaluate the performance of spatially explicit wind erosion models across these scales. This paper addresses this issue by presenting a methodology for monitoring land erodibility at the landscape scale (10³ km²). First, we define criteria suitable for evaluating land erodibility based on empirical relationships between soil texture, vegetation cover, geomorphology, and wind erosion. The criteria were used to visually assess land erodibility over long distances (10³ km) using vehicle-based transects run through the rangelands of western Queensland, Australia. Application of the data for testing the performance of a spatially explicit land erodibility model (AUSLEM) is then demonstrated by comparing the visual assessments of land erodibility with the model output. The model performed best in the west of the study area in the open rangelands. In regions with higher woody shrub and tree cover the model performance decreases. This highlights the need for research to better parameterise controls on erodibility in semi-arid landscapes consisting of forested and rangeland mosaics.     

Increases in fire risk due to warmer summer temperatures and wildland urban interface changes do not necessarily lead to more fires

Forest fire frequency in Mediterranean countries is expected to increase with land cover and climate changes as temperatures rise and rainfall patterns are altered. Although the cause of many Mediterranean fires remains poorly defined, most fires are of anthropogenic origin and are located in the wildland urban interface (WUI), so fire ignition risk depends on both weather and land cover characteristics. The objectives of this study were to quantify the overall trends in forest fire risk in the WUI of the Alpes-Maritimes department in SE France over a period of almost 50 years (about 1960–2009) and relate these to changes in land cover and temperature changes. Land cover for two contrasting reference catchments (236 km² and 289 km², respectively) was mapped from available aerial photographs. Changes in fire risk over time were estimated using statistical relationships defined for each type of WUI, where isolated and scattered housing present a greater risk than dense and very dense housing. Summer monthly temperatures and spring and summer precipitation were quantified over the same temporal period as land cover. Finally, trends in fire frequency and burned area were analyzed over a shorter 37 year period (1973–2009) due to the lack of available fire data before 1973. Fire risk associated with WUI expansion increased by about 18%–80% over the 1960–2009 period (depending on the catchment). Similarly, mean summer minimum and maximum monthly temperatures increased by 1.8 °C and 1.4 °C, respectively, over the same period. Summer rainfall appears to decrease over time since about the 1970's but remains highly variable. Land cover and weather changes both suggest an overall increase in fire risk. However, the number of fires and burned area have decreased significantly since about 1990. This paradoxical result is due to a change in fire-fighting strategy which reinforced the systematic extinction of fires in their early stages. Technical support in the form of improved radio communication and helicopters contributed greatly to reducing fire frequency and burned area. Surveillance and legal reforms included the introduction of field patrols and restricted access to forests during high risk periods. Although this has proven highly successful in the short term, the risk of fuel load accumulation over time remains a risk which might contribute to the development of mega-fires in extreme climatic conditions in the future.     

土地利用和覆盖变化在全球变化研究中的地位与作用

探讨了土地利用和土地覆盖的基本涵义怀人类活动的关系,阐述了土地利用和土壤覆盖变化的全球环境效应,分析了它在国际全球变化研究中的地位和作用,最后概括总结了我国ＬＵＣＣ研究的现状与趋势。     

中亚热带山区土地利用变化对土壤性质的影响

土地利用变化是全球环境变化的重要组成部分,其可以直接影响到土壤性质的变化。本研究通过中亚热带山区天然林、人工林(用材林和经济林)、次生林、农业用地(橘园和坡耕地)等7种典型土地利用方式土壤性质的研究,结果表明:土地利用变化后土壤有机质和全氮含量下降幅度分别达到52.2%~81.8%和57.9%~172.6%;同时土壤容重增加,pH值升高。而土地利用变化对土壤全磷、全钾的影响的规律较为不明显。综合比较中国区域土地利用变化对土壤性质变化的影响,其中20~25°N纬度带土壤物理化学性质变化幅度最大。