An Alternative Method for the Generation of Consistent Mapping to Monitoring Land Cover Change: A Case Study of Guerrero State in Mexico

René Vázquez-Jiménez,Raúl Romero-Calcerrada,Patricia Arrogante-Funes,Carlos J Novillo,Rocío N Ramos-Bernal

doi:10.3390/land10070731

René Vázquez-Jiménez, Raúl Romero-Calcerrada + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/land10070731

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Abstract

Land cover is crucial for ecosystems and human activities. Therefore, monitoring land cover changes has become relevant in recent years. This study proposes an alternative method based on conventional change detection techniques combined with maximum likelihood (MaxLike) supervised classification of satellite images to generate consistent Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) maps. The novelty of this method is that the supervised classification is applied in an earlier stage of change detection exclusively to identified dynamics zones. The LULC categories of the stable zones are acquired from an initial date’s previously elaborated base map. The methodology comprised the use of Landsat images from 2011 and 2016, applying the Sun Canopy Sensor (SCS + C) topographic correction model enhanced through the classification of slopes, using derived topographic corrected images with NDVI, and employing Tasseled Cap (TC) Brightness-Greenness-Wetness indices and Principal Components (PCs). The study incorporated a comparative analysis of the consistency of the LULC mapping, which is generated based on control areas. The results show that the proposed method, although slightly laborious, is viable and fully automatable. The generated LULC map is accurate and robust and achieves a Kappa concordance index of 87.53. Furthermore, the boundary consistency was visually superior to the conventional classified map.

Highlights

A third of the Earth’s surface is covered by land [1].Forest ecosystems help maintain biological diversity, water cycle regulation, carbon storage, and other ecological functions [2,3]
We proposed an alternative method to generate spatial and thematics consistent Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) mapping at a local or regional scale through combined remote sensing techniques
The methodological design (Figure 3) for elaborating a consistent LULC mapping proposal is based on five steps

Summary

Introduction

A third of the Earth’s surface is covered by land (approximately 140 million km2 ) [1]. Forest ecosystems help maintain biological diversity, water cycle regulation, carbon storage, and other ecological functions [2,3]. Some of the main causes of biodiversity loss are land cover change and anthropogenic disturbances, including the degradation or intensification of land use [4,5]. The transformation of forests into agricultural or urban areas has become common in the last 30 years in several regions of Mexico [6,7,8]. 0.3% of Mexico’s vegetation surface is transformed and undergoes a LULC change [9]. Half of the world’s native forest cover has been lost, and

Methods

Results

Conclusion