Availability of global and national scale land cover products and their accuracy in mountainous areas of Ethiopia: a review

Binyam Tesfaw Hailu,Thomas Nauss,Mekbib Fekadu

doi:10.1117/1.jrs.12.041502

Binyam Tesfaw Hailu, Thomas Nauss + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1117/1.jrs.12.041502

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Abstract

A large variety of remote sensing-based land use/land cover (LULC) products are currently available on national and global scales. This literature review and in situ validation study evaluate the suitability of these products for local scale applications in the complex terrain of the Ethiopian mountains. For the review, 146 research papers are analyzed. Most studies (73%) have been published since 2013 and are based on individually computed maps. Not a single study relied on readily available LULC products. Nine readily available LULC products with 20-, 30-, 300-, 500-, and 1000-m spatial resolution have been identified at national and global scales. To complement and extend this body of research, the recent (since 2013) LULC products are validated using 185 ground truth points collected in the Bale Mountains National Park between 1500 and 4385 m a.s.l. The results indicate a rather poor overall accuracy (<50 % ).

Highlights

Land use/land cover (LULC) information is heavily utilized for mapping environmental conditions and monitoring changes such as deforestation, land degradation, drought, or urbanization.[1,2] land use/land cover (LULC) change is a major driver of biodiversity loss and affects climate change response, ecosystem structure and functioning, water and energy balance, and agroecological potential.[3]
The 146 publications were synthesized based on study area, elevation, use of satellite images, LULC products, publication year, and accuracy assessment result
The number of publications per year increased until 2017 [see Figs. 6(c)] reaching a maximum of 26 in 2017. This signifies the importance of LULC information for Ethiopia within the scientific community

Summary

Introduction

Land use/land cover (LULC) information is heavily utilized for mapping environmental conditions and monitoring changes such as deforestation, land degradation, drought, or urbanization.[1,2] LULC change is a major driver of biodiversity loss and affects climate change response, ecosystem structure and functioning, water and energy balance, and agroecological potential.[3] Adequate information on LULC is, required on global, national, and local scales. Indirect drivers are population growth, essential for commodities, governance, and economic growth.[4,5,6,7] LULC change is a major challenge with a strong impact on the agricultural development process and the implementation of the country’s main development strategies, such as the growth and transformation plan developed by Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and the 2011 climate-resilient green economy strategy.[8]

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