scholarly journals Monitoring Landscape Changes in Japan Using Classification of Modis Data Combined with a Landscape Transformation Sere (LTS) Model

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 23-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ippei Harada ◽  
Keitarou Hara ◽  
Mizuki Tomita ◽  
Kevin Short ◽  
Jonggeol Park
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Landscape Change ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
National Level ◽  
Landscape Changes ◽  
Modis Data ◽  
Landscape Transformation ◽  
Broad Leaved Forest ◽  
Leaved Forest

Abstract Japan, with over 75% forest cover, is one of the most heavily forested countries in the world. Various types of climax forest are distributed according to latitude and altitude. At the same time, human intervention in Japan has historically been intensive, and many forest habitats show the influence of various levels of disturbance. Furthermore, Japanese landscapes are changing rapidly, and a system of efficient monitoring is needed. The aim of this research was to identify major historical trends in Japanese landscape change and to develop a system for identifying and monitoring patterns of landscape change at the national level. To provide a base for comparison, Warmth Index (WI) climatic data was digitalized and utilized to map potential climax vegetation for all of Japan. Extant Land Use Information System (LUIS) data were then modified and digitalized to generate national level Land Use/Land Cover (LU/LC) distribution maps for 1900, 1950 and 1985. In addition, MODIS data for 2001 acquired by the Tokyo University of Information Sciences were utilized for remote LU/LC classification using an unsupervised method on multi-temporal composite data. Eight classification categories were established using the ISODATA (cluster analyses) method; alpine plant communities, evergreen coniferous forest, evergreen broad-leaved forest, deciduous broad-leaved forest, mixed forest, arable land (irrigated rice paddy, non-irrigated, grassland), urban area, river and marsh. The results of the LUIS analyses and MODIS classifications were interpreted in terms of a Landscape Transformation Sere model assuming that under increasing levels of human disturbance the landscape will change through a series of stages. The results showed that overall forest cover in Japan has actually increased over the century covered by the data; from 72.1% in 1900 to 76.9% in 2001. Comparison of the actual vegetation and the potential vegetation as predicted by WI, however, indicated that in many areas the climax vegetation has been replaced by secondary forests such as conifer timber plantations. This trend was especially strong in the warm and mid temperate zones of western Japan. This research also demonstrated that classification of moderate resolution remote sensing data, interpreted within a LTS framework, can be an effective tool for efficient and repeat monitoring of landscape changes at the national level. In the future, the authors plan to continue utilizing this approach to track rapidly occurring changes in Japanese landscapes at the national level.

Classification of vegetation in Cucphuong National Park with the aim of large-scale mapping, Vietnam

1996 ◽  
pp. 64-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nguen Nghia Thin ◽  
Nguen Ba Thu ◽  
Tran Van Thuy
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Satellite Images ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Aerial Photographs ◽  
Vegetation Map ◽  
Dense Forest ◽  
Broad Leaved Forest ◽  
Leaved Forest

The tropical seasonal rainy evergreen broad-leaved forest vegetation of the Cucphoung National Park has been classified and the distribution of plant communities has been shown on the map using the relations of vegetation to geology, geomorphology and pedology. The method of vegetation mapping includes: 1) the identifying of vegetation types in the remote-sensed materials (aerial photographs and satellite images); 2) field work to compile the interpretation keys and to characterize all the communities of a study area; 3) compilation of the final vegetation map using the combined information. In the classification presented a number of different level vegetation units have been identified: formation classes (3), formation sub-classes (3), formation groups (3), formations (4), subformations (10) and communities (19). Communities have been taken as mapping units. So in the vegetation map of the National Park 19 vegetation categories has been shown altogether, among them 13 are natural primary communities, and 6 are the secondary, anthropogenic ones. The secondary succession goes through 3 main stages: grassland herbaceous xerophytic vegetation, xerophytic scrub, dense forest.

scholarly journals Bi-Temporal Analysis of Spatial Changes of Boreal Forest Cover and Species in Siberia for the Years 1985 and 2015

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (24) ◽  
pp. 4116
Author(s):  
Lei Tian ◽  
Wenxue Fu
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Coniferous Forest ◽  
Temporal Analysis ◽  
Quantitative Information ◽  
Forest Change ◽  
Landsat Images ◽  
Latitude Zone ◽  
Broad Leaved Forest ◽  
Leaved Forest

Boreal forest is a sensitive indicator of the influence of climate change. It can quantify the level and spatial divergence of forest change for forest resources and carbon cycle research. This study selected a typical boreal forest affected by few human activities as a research area, in Siberia, with a latitude span of 51°N–69°N. A total of 150 Landsat images of this area acquired in 1985 and 2015 were collected. A hierarchical classification approach was first established to retrieve the information of forest cover and species. The forested and nonforested lands were discriminated by the decision tree method and, furthermore, the forested land was classified to broad-leaved and coniferous forests by a random forest algorithm. The overall accuracy was 90.37%, which indicates the validity of the approach. Finally, the quantitative information of the forest cover and species changes in each latitude zone of every 2° was analyzed. The results show that the overall boreal forest cover increased by 5.11% over the past three decades, with broad-leaved forest increasing by 3.54% and coniferous forest increasing by 1.57%. In addition, boreal forest increased in every latitude zone, and the spatial divergence of the changes of the boreal forest cover and species in different latitude zones were significant. Finally, broad-leaved forest increased more rapidly than coniferous forest, and the greatest increase, of up to 5.77%, occurred in the zone of 55°N–57°N.

scholarly journals Landscape Change in Mediterranean Farmlands: Impacts of Land Abandonment on Cultivation Terraces in Portofino (Italy) and Lesvos (Greece)

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theo Van Der Sluis ◽  
Thanasis Kizos ◽  
Bas Pedroli
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Landscape Change ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
Aerial Photographs ◽  
Landscape Changes ◽  
The Past ◽  
Mediterranean Landscapes ◽  
The Mediterranean

Abstract The Mediterranean landscape has been rapidly changing over the past decades. Many regions saw a population decline, which resulted in changing land use, abandonment of marginal lands and colonisation by shrubs and tree species. Typical features like farming terraces, olive yards, and upland grasslands have been decreasing over the past 50 years. This results in a declining biodiversity and loss of traditional Mediterranean landscapes. In this paper we assess the landscape changes that took place in two areas, in Portofino, on the Italian Riviera, and Lesvos, a Greek island near the Turkish coast. We compared land use maps and aerial photographs over the past decades to quantify the land use changes in these two areas. Additional information was acquired from farmers’ interviews and literature. We found that changes are related to societal changes in the appraisal of agricultural land uses, and to the urban expansion, tourism and recreation. These diffuse processes are a result of policy measures and autonomous societal transformations. This is confirmed by the results of two interview surveys: between 1999 and 2012 agricultural land use in Portofino regional Park and buffer zone further marginalised, and the associated landscape changes are perceived as a substantial loss of character and identity. This problem is emblematic for large parts of the Mediterranean. Comparing different landscapes reveal similar processes of landscape change, which can be related to similar driving forces. Based on such comparisons, we learn about possible trajectories of change, and ask for a comprehensive approach to land use management.

scholarly journals Soil–atmosphere exchange flux of total gaseous mercury (TGM) at subtropical and temperate forest catchments

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (24) ◽  
pp. 16117-16133
Author(s):  
Jun Zhou ◽  
Zhangwei Wang ◽  
Xiaoshan Zhang ◽  
Charles T. Driscoll ◽  
Che-Jen Lin
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Solar Radiation ◽  
Open Field ◽  
Temperate Forest ◽  
Subtropical Forest ◽  
Pine Forest ◽  
Broad Leaved Forest ◽  
Leaved Forest ◽  
Soil Hg

Abstract. Evasion from soil is the largest source of mercury (Hg) to the atmosphere from terrestrial ecosystems. To improve our understanding of controls and in estimates of forest soil–atmosphere fluxes of total gaseous Hg (TGM), measurements were made using dynamic flux chambers (DFCs) over 130 and 96 d for each of five plots at a subtropical forest and a temperate forest, respectively. At the subtropical forest, the highest net soil Hg emissions were observed for an open field (24 ± 33 ng m−2 h−1), followed by two coniferous forest plots (2.8 ± 3.9 and 3.5 ±  4.2 ng m−2 h−1), a broad-leaved forest plot (0.18 ±  4.3 ng m−2 h−1) and the remaining wetland site showing net deposition (−0.80 ± 5.1 ng m−2 h−1). At the temperate forest, the highest fluxes and net soil Hg emissions were observed for a wetland (3.81 ± 0.52 ng m−2 h−1) and an open field (1.82 ± 0.79 ng m−2 h−1), with lesser emission rates in the deciduous broad-leaved forest (0.68 ± 1.01 ng m−2 h−1) and deciduous needle-leaved forest (0.32 ± 0.96 ng m−2 h−1) plots, and net deposition at an evergreen pine forest (−0.04 ± 0.81 ng m−2 h−1). High solar radiation and temperature during summer resulted in the high Hg emissions in the subtropical forest and the open field and evergreen pine forest at the temperate forest. At the temperate deciduous plots, the highest Hg emission occurred in spring during the leaf-off period due to direct solar radiation exposure to soils. Fluxes showed strong positive relationships with solar radiation and soil temperature and negative correlations with ambient air TGM concentration in both the subtropical and temperate forests, with area-weighted compensation points of 6.82 and 3.42 ng m−3, respectively. The values of the compensation points suggest that the atmospheric TGM concentration can play a critical role in limiting TGM emissions from the forest floor. Climate change and land use disturbance may increase the compensation points in both temperate and subtropical forests. Future research should focus on the role of legacy soil Hg in reemissions to the atmosphere as decreases in primary emissions drive decreases in TGM concentrations and disturbances of climate change and land use.

scholarly journals Landscape change and vegetation history in the city of Lisbon during Roman times and the Early Medieval Period

The Holocene ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 134-144
Author(s):  
Andrés Currás ◽  
Ana Maria Costa ◽  
Maria da Conceição Freitas ◽  
Randi Danielsen ◽  
Jacinta Bugalhão
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Landscape Change ◽  
Vegetation History ◽  
Landscape Changes ◽  
Medieval Period ◽  
Early Medieval Period ◽  
Sedimentary Deposits ◽  
Socioeconomic Transformation ◽  
The City

Pollen and NPP analysis performed on the sedimentary deposits accumulated in the inter-tidal banks of the Tagus Estuary allow for the reconstruction of vegetation history and landscape changes that occurred in Lisbon from the 1st to the 6th century cal AD. The high chronological resolution of this investigation makes it possible to identify changes in human activities that took place during the Roman period and reveals the extent of land use in the 2nd century cal AD. However, the most considerable landscape transformation of this 600-year period dates back to the late 5th century cal AD, when significant deforestation and increasing human activity, particularly pasturing, spread throughout the territory. This feature bears witness to the outcome of a deep socioeconomic transformation following the disintegration of the Roman administration and sheds light on a poorly known period in this part of Iberia.

scholarly journals Export-oriented deforestation in Mato Grosso: harbinger or exception for other tropical forests?

2013 ◽  
Vol 368 (1619) ◽  
pp. 20120173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth DeFries ◽  
Martin Herold ◽  
Louis Verchot ◽  
Marcia N. Macedo ◽  
Yosio Shimabukuro
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Tropical Forest ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
National Level ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Market Forces ◽  
Commercial Agriculture ◽  
Mato Grosso ◽  
Agricultural Exports ◽  
Livestock Feed

The Brazilian state of Mato Grosso was a global deforestation hotspot in the early 2000s. Deforested land is used predominantly to produce meat for distal consumption either through cattle ranching or soya bean for livestock feed. Deforestation declined dramatically in the latter part of the decade through a combination of market forces, policies, enforcement and improved monitoring. This study assesses how representative the national-level drivers underlying Mato Grosso's export-oriented deforestation are in other tropical forest countries based on agricultural exports, commercial agriculture and urbanization. We also assess how pervasive the governance and technical monitoring capacity that enabled Mato Grosso's decline in deforestation is in other countries. We find that between 41 and 54 per cent of 2000–2005 deforestation in tropical forest countries (other than Brazil) occurred in countries with drivers similar to Brazil. Very few countries had national-level governance and capacity similar to Brazil. Results suggest that the ecological, hydrological and social consequences of land-use change for export-oriented agriculture as discussed in this Theme Issue were applicable in about one-third of all tropical forest countries in 2000–2005. However, the feasibility of replicating Mato Grosso's success with controlling deforestation is more limited. Production landscapes to support distal consumption similar to Mato Grosso are likely to become more prevalent and are unlikely to follow a land-use transition model with increasing forest cover.

Landscape Change in an Agricultural Watershed: The Effect of Parcelization on Riparian Forest Cover

1996 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
R E Kleiman ◽  
D L Erickson
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Landscape Change ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Riparian Forest ◽  
Agricultural Watershed ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Farm Scale ◽  
Land Use Policies ◽  
Increasing Trends

In this research we address factors contributing to landscape change in a midwestern (USA) watershed. Specifically, the relationship between the parcelization of agricultural land (ownership subdivisions) and changes in amounts of riparian forest cover are explored. The study area is the River Raisin Watershed in southeastern Michigan, which is typical of rural watersheds in the lower Great Lakes region. Two townships within the watershed were sampled from data spanning a 20-year time period. Using land-use and land-cover data for 1968, 1978, and 1988, combined with ownership records for the same years, we determined a relationship between rates of parcelization and changes in forest cover. These findings indicate that increasing trends in riparian forest area follow increases in land parcelization at the township scale. For these two townships, agricultural decline and land-use diversification seem positively related to larger areas and widths of riparian forests. As the number of acres being farmed and the number of farms have decreased, the land has been divided into more and smaller lots and the forests along rivers like the Raisin and its tributaries have increased in area. There are several possible factors at the township and farm scale which may influence this landscape phenomenon, including land-use policies, governmental programs, agricultural mechanization, and agricultural economics.

scholarly journals At the Crossroads of European Landscape Changes: Major Processes of Landscape Change in Czechia since the Middle of the 19th Century and Their Driving Forces

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 34
Author(s):  
Lucie Kupková ◽  
Ivan Bičík ◽  
Leoš Jeleček
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Landscape Change ◽  
Cultural Landscape ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Landscape Changes ◽  
Mountain Areas ◽  
Key Events ◽  
The 19Th Century

Changes in the cultural landscape provide essential evidence about the manner and intensity of the interactions between humans and nature. Czechia has a specific location in Central Europe. It is positioned at the crossroads of European landscape changes. These changes can be documented based on a unique database that shows the development of land use since the middle of the 19th century. In this study, we aimed to address the major processes of landscape change that occurred during four periods over the past 165 years, at the cadastral level on the territory of present-day Czechia. Further we identify and discuss proximate and underlying driving forces of the landscape changes. We used land use data from the year 1845, 1896, 1948, 1990, and 2010 that correspond to key events in Czech history. The major processes and intensity of landscape change were evaluated based on calculations of increases and decreases in land use classes between the first and last year of each examined period. The period 1845–1896 was the only period in which arable land increased, and the most recent period, 1990–2010, was the only period during which a grassing over process was recorded. Afforestation was recorded in all periods. The communist period was characterized by unified changes—urbanization, afforestation, arable land decrease, and landscape devastation. The post-communist period was, in some respects, beneficial to the landscape (e.g., grassing over and afforestation, particularly in mountain areas), but it also led to negative processes, such as strong urbanization and land abandonment. Such changes lead to landscape polarization. The landscape changes in Czechia during the period 1845–2010 reflect many important historical events in Europe. In our analysis, we demonstrate the essential impact of underlying drivers and also identify driving forces specific to the development of the Czech territory.

Image segmentation and classification of Landsat Thematic Mapper data using a sampling approach for forest cover assessmentThis article is one of a selection of papers from Extending Forest Inventory and Monitoring over Space and Time.

2011 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasumasa Hirata ◽  
Tomoaki Takahashi
Keyword(s):  
Forest Cover ◽  
Scale Parameter ◽  
National Level ◽  
Sampling Rate ◽  
Object Oriented ◽  
Land Area ◽  
Scale Parameters ◽  
Optimum Sampling ◽  
Selection Of

Remote sensing surveys for estimating forest cover may be divided into two approaches: wall-to-wall and sampling. Sampling approaches offer a practical alternative to wall-to-wall mapping, but estimates of forest cover may be affected by the sampling rate of the estimation area. This study aimed to obtain stable estimates of forest cover from satellite data using object-oriented classification at the national level. We investigated a suitable value for the scale parameter in object-oriented classification using eCognition software to identify land cover types, and we evaluated the sampling rate for estimating forest cover at the national level. We used eight different scale parameters when applying object-oriented classification to Landsat data for a set of forty-six 10 km × 10 km sampling tiles centered at each degree of latitude and longitude in Japan. The scale parameter of 10 or less was found suitable for obtaining objects with areas of about 5 ha. Overall accuracy in classification was greater than 75% and greatest when the scale parameter was between 6 and 10. We then analyzed the entire land area of Japan using 10 km × 10 km tiles to evaluate the optimum sampling rate for estimating forest cover. A sampling rate greater than 20% was required to stably estimate forest cover in Japan.

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