Abstract
The wealth of complementary data available from remote sensing missions can hugely aid efforts towards accurately determining land use and quantifying subtle changes in land use management or intensity. This study reviewed 112 studies on fusing optical and radar data, which offer unique spectral and structural information, for land cover and use assessments. Contrary to our expectations, only 50 studies specifically addressed land use, and five assessed land use changes, while the majority addressed land cover. The advantages of fusion for land use analysis were assessed in 32 studies, and a large majority (28 studies) concluded that fusion improved results compared to using single data sources. Study sites were small, frequently 300–3000 km 2 or individual plots, with a lack of comparison of results and accuracies across sites. Although a variety of fusion techniques were used, pre-classification fusion followed by pixel-level inputs in traditional classification algorithms (e.g., Gaussian maximum likelihood classification) was common, but often without a concrete rationale on the applicability of the method to the land use theme being studied. Progress in this field of research requires the development of robust techniques of fusion to map the intricacies of land uses and changes therein and systematic procedures to assess the benefits of fusion over larger spatial scales.
Highlights
Anthropogenic land use and cover change (LUCC) is a major cause of global environmental change [1]
This review focuses on examining the utility of combining two types of remote sensing data, optical and radar (synthetic aperture radar (SAR), scatterometer or radar altimeter), for characterizing land use and changes therein, as reported in studies to date
This study reviewed the utility of integrating optical and radar remote sensing data, which together combine unique spectral and structural characteristics of land surfaces, for mapping land use and the subtle intricacies of changes in land use management and land use intensity
Summary
Anthropogenic land use and cover change (LUCC) is a major cause of global environmental change [1]. The transition of forests and grasslands to crop lands and pastures is the most prevalent of these changes, linked to increasing demand for food and fibre, with impacts on carbon stocks [4,5], biodiversity [6] and climate [7]. Alongside these changes, land is being subtly modified to alter ecosystem services (e.g., through selective log harvesting or agricultural intensification) by processes that are poorly quantified to date, but carry substantial environmental costs [8]. Quantifying LUCC remains a challenge, partly since the dynamics and trajectories of change are complex and fast-evolving [3,11] and partly since robust methods for analyses are still in development for many LUCC processes
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