LAND USE/ LAND COVER

Geo-informatics & Remote Sensing For Planning

Land Cover/ Land Use Mapping•Land cover refers to the feature present and land use refers to the human activity associated with a plot of land.•Land cover: the type physcial feature present on the surface of the Earth. • For example, corn fields, lakes, forests, concrete highways.•Land use: refers to human activity or economic function associated with a• specific piece of land. For example, land use of agriculture can include : corn, rice, sugar cane, tobacco, orchards, … and so on, all of which are different land cover types.

Land Cover/ Land Use Mapping•Land use and land cover classification system for use with remote sensor data •Level I Level II•1 Urban or Built-up Land 11 Residential

12 Commercial and Services

13 Industrial

14 Transportation, Communications, and Utilities

15 Industrial and Commercial Complexes

16 Mixed Urban or Built-up Land

17 Other Urban or Built-up Land

Land Cover/ Land Use Mapping•Level I Level II•2 Agricultural Land 21 Cropland and Pasture

22 Orchards, Groves, Vineyards, Nurseries, and Ornamental Horticultural Areas 23 Confined Feeding Operations

24 Other Agricultural Land•3 Rangeland 31 Herbaceous Rangeland

32 Shrub and Brush Rangeland

33 Mixed Rangeland•4 Forest Land 41 Deciduous Forest Land

42 Evergreen Forest Land

43 Mixed Forest Land•5 Water 51 Streams and Canals

Land Cover/ Land Use Mapping•Level I Level II

52 Lakes

53 Reservoirs

54 Bays and Estuaries•6 Wetland 61 Forested Wetland

62 Nonforested Wetland•7 Barren Land 71 Dry Salt Flats.

72 Beaches

73 Sandy Areas other than Beaches

74 Bare Exposed Rock

Continue… 75 Strip Mines Quarries, and Gravel Pits

76 Transitional Areas

77 Mixed Barren Land•8 Tundra 81 Shrub and Brush Tundra

82 Herbaceous Tundra

83 Bare Ground Tundra

84 Wet Tundra

85 Mixed Tundra•9 Perennial Snow or Ice 91 Perennial Snowfields

92 Glaciers

Land Cover/ Land Use Mapping•Level 3 and 4 categories deliver even more detail. •USGS only specifies classifications for 1 and 2. They suggest that higher level classification be designed by local planners who know the land uses, because of the narrowness of the categories• As an example for level 3, with “urban” (level 1) “residential” (level 2) category, includes single family home (111), multifamily home (112), group quarters (113), mobile home parks (115), etc. •LANDSAT data can be used to generate level 1 easily, level 2 with some finesse (15 to 20 m resolution recommended)•Levels 3 and 4, IKONOS data or aerial photographs are needed. Level 4 requires much supplemental information

Land Cover/ Land Use Mapping•Here is an example of LANDSAT data classified using the Anderson System

Criteria for USGS Classification LU/LC classification system

1. The minimum interpretation accuracy with remotely sensed data is >=85%2. Accuracy of interpretation for several categories should be equal.3. Repeatable results from one interpreter to another and from one time of sensing

to another.4. Applicable to extensive areas5. Categorization permit land use be inferred from the land cover types6. Suitable for use with remotely sensed data obtained at different times of the

year.7. Categories can be divided into more detailed subcagories that can be obtained

from large scale imagery or ground surveys.8. Aggregation of categories be possible9. Comparison with future land use and land cover data should be possible10.Multiple uses of land should be recognized when possible.

USGS Land use/ Land cover Classification System for Use with Remotely Sensed Data

Continue…

Land Cover (LC): the biophysical material covering the earth’s surface

Land Use (LU): how humans are using the land surface Examples

land cover: impervious surface land use: parking lot

land cover: grass land use: recreational field

Land Cover vs. Land Use

Classification system: systematic categorization of LU or LC types

Often hierarchical progressing from the general to the specific,

e.g., level I --> level II --> level III Examples: USGS LU/LC (Anderson et al., 1976)

Coastal Change Analysis Program (CCAP) USF&WS NWI (Cowardin et al., 1979)

LU/LC Classification systems

Existing USGS Land Cover Products

For more info: http://edc.usgs.gov/products/landcover.html

National Land Cover Dataset 1992 (NLCD 92) A U.S. land cover classification product based primarily on 1992 Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) data.

MRLC2000 (Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics 2000) Selected ETM+ and TM scenes (Landsats 7 and 5) from the National Land Cover Characterization 2000 project.

Land Use and Land Cover Data (LULC) Historical U.S. land use and land cover data derived from 1970`s and 1980`s aerial photography.

Global Land Cover Characterization (GLCC) A global land cover database primarily derived from 1992 to 1993 1-km AVHRR data.

Uncontrolled maps: prepared at photo scale by direct tracing. Area measurements no more accurate than from the photos directly, depends on flatness of the terrain

Controlled maps: transfer onto planimetric base map of uniform scale. Needed for precise measurement of area.

Minimum Mapping Unit: smallest area of land that is mapped as a separate unit or entity, depends on scale & user requirements

Mapping Considerations

Shape Size Shadows - shape & height Tone/Color Texture Pattern Site Association

Visual Interpreting Land Cover

Major categories of urban land use Industrial Commercial/service Transportation/utilities Institutional (schools, government) Residential Recreational

More on color: remember image color is a function of the spectral reflectance pattern of the object

Chlorophyll absorbs large % of red and blue for photosynthesis- and strongly reflects in green (.55um) um

Peak reflectance in leaves in near infrared (.7-1.2um) up to 50% of infrared energy per leaf is scattered up or down due to cell wall size, shape, leaf condition (age, stress, disease), etc.

Reflectance in Mid IR (2-4um) influenced by water content-water absorbs IR energy, so live leaves reduce mid IR return

In a CIR photo,

A color example-plant leaves

Hi NIR ------------> Hi RedVery Lo Red ------------> Very Lo GreenVery Lo to Lo Green -----------> Very Lo to Lo Blue As a result due to the additive color processes, the color would be Red to Magenta

Spectral reflectance characteristics are both spatially and temporally variable. For example, each leaf is different and can change

Cultural Features Identification

Building size, shape and associated features Major transportation routes: highways and rail-

lines, canals/ports, airports Street pattern and density Open/green spaces: vegetation type and cover

Industrial Classification Key

Extraction: characterized by excavations, piles, ponds, tanks, earth-moving equipment

Processing: characterized by bulk material storage, large processing equipment, power plant/smokestacks, waste piles/ponds

Fabrication: characterized by few facilities for storing bulk materials, 1 story warehouse type buildings, rail/truck transportation

Identifying and correcting the sources of errors may increase the quality of map information

Accuracy aspects in LU/LC mapping

Need of mapping To solve the problems related with conversion of agricultural land into

urban use. Analysing city expansions in all directions resulting in large scale

changes in urban landuse.

Applications

Vegetation Mapping Applications Forest stand mapping for timber evaluation -

species identification - timber volume: density, canopy

closure, tree height Plant vigor, disease and stress detection Wildlife habitat mapping Outdoor recreation capability surveys

Urban-Cultural applications

Parking and transportation studies Residential development analysis

indicators of housing quality real estate evaluation

Brown-fields location/evaluation Open space location/evaluation

Engineering Applications Large projects site location/evaluation Transportation route location/selection Construction material surveys Natural hazard investigations Post-disaster damage surveys Monitoring disturbed land Water pollution investigations

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