Historical Land Use/Land Cover Classification Using Remote Sensing


Book Description

Although the development of remote sensing techniques focuses greatly on construction of new sensors with higher spatial and spectral resolution, it is advisable to also use data of older sensors (especially, the LANDSAT-mission) when the historical mapping of land use/land cover and monitoring of their dynamics are needed. Using data from LANDSAT missions as well as from Terra (ASTER) Sensors, the authors shows in his book maps of historical land cover changes with a focus on agricultural irrigation projects. The kernel of this study was whether, how and to what extent applying the various remotely sensed data that were used here, would be an effective approach to classify the historical and current land use/land cover, to monitor the dynamics of land use/land cover during the last four decades, to map the development of the irrigation areas, and to classify the major strategic winter- and summer-irrigated agricultural crops in the study area of the Euphrates River Basin.







Land Cover Classification of Remotely Sensed Images


Book Description

The book introduces two domains namely Remote Sensing and Digital Image Processing. It discusses remote sensing, texture, classifiers, and procedures for performing the texture-based segmentation and land cover classification. The first chapter discusses the important terminologies in remote sensing, basics of land cover classification, types of remotely sensed images and their characteristics. The second chapter introduces the texture and a detailed literature survey citing papers related to texture analysis and image processing. The third chapter describes basic texture models for gray level images and multivariate texture models for color or remotely sensed images with relevant Matlab source codes. The fourth chapter focuses on texture-based classification and texture-based segmentation. The Matlab source codes for performing supervised texture based segmentation using basic texture models and minimum distance classifier are listed. The fifth chapter describes supervised and unsupervised classifiers. The experimental results obtained using a basic texture model (Uniform Local Binary Pattern) with the classifiers described earlier are discussed through the relevant Matlab source codes. The sixth chapter describes land cover classification procedure using multivariate (statistical and spectral) texture models and minimum distance classifier with Matlab source codes. A few performance metrics are also explained. The seventh chapter explains how texture based segmentation and land cover classification are performed using the hidden Markov model with relevant Matlab source codes. The eighth chapter gives an overview of spatial data analysis and other existing land cover classification methods. The ninth chapter addresses the research issues and challenges associated with land cover classification using textural approaches. This book is useful for undergraduates in Computer Science and Civil Engineering and postgraduates who plan to do research or project work in digital image processing. The book can serve as a guide to those who narrow down their research to processing remotely sensed images. It addresses a wide range of texture models and classifiers. The book not only guides but aids the reader in implementing the concepts through the Matlab source codes listed. In short, the book will be a valuable resource for growing academicians to gain expertise in their area of specialization and students who aim at gaining in-depth knowledge through practical implementations. The exercises given under texture based segmentation (excluding land cover classification exercises) can serve as lab exercises for the undergraduate students who learn texture based image processing.




Remote Sensing of Land Use and Land Cover in Mountain Region


Book Description

This book presents the spatial and temporal dynamics of land use and land cover in the central Tibetan Plateau during the last two decades, based on various types of satellite data, long-term field investigation and GIS techniques. Further, it demonstrates how remote sensing can be used to map and characterize land use, land cover and their dynamic processes in mountainous regions, and to monitor and model relevant biophysical parameters. The Tibetan Plateau, the highest and largest plateau on the Earth and well known as “the roof of the world,” is a huge mountainous area on the Eurasian continent and covers millions of square kilometers, with an average elevation of over 4000 m. After providing an overview of the background and an introduction to land use and land cover change, the book analyzes the current land use status, dynamic changes and spatial distribution patterns of different land-use types in the study area, using various types of remotely sensed data, digital elevation models and GIS spatial analysis methods to do so. In turn, it discusses the main driving forces, based on the main physical environment variables and socioeconomic data, and provides a future scenario analysis of land use change using a Markov chain model. Given its scope, it provides a valuable reference guide for researchers, scientists and graduate students working on environmental change in mountainous regions around the globe, and for practitioners working at government and non-government agencies.