Land Information System Research Articles

Impact of Irrigation Methods on Land Surface Model Spinup and Initialization of WRF Forecasts

AbstractIn the United States, irrigation represents the largest consumptive use of freshwater and accounts for approximately one-third of total water usage. Irrigation impacts soil moisture and can ultimately influence clouds and precipitation through land–planetary boundary layer (PBL) coupling processes. This study utilizes NASA’s Land Information System (LIS) and the NASA Unified Weather Research and Forecasting Model (NU-WRF) framework to investigate the effects of drip, flood, and sprinkler irrigation methods on land–atmosphere interactions, including land–PBL coupling and feedbacks at the local scale. To initialize 2-day, 1-km WRF forecasts over the central Great Plains in a drier-than-normal (2006) and a wetter-than-normal year (2008), 5-yr irrigated LIS spinups were used. The offline and coupled simulation results show that regional irrigation impacts are sensitive to time, space, and method and that irrigation cools and moistens the surface over and downwind of irrigated areas, ultimately resulting in both positive and negative feedbacks on the PBL depending on the time of day and background climate conditions. Furthermore, the results portray the importance of both irrigation method physics and correct representation of several key components of land surface models, including accurate and timely land-cover and crop-type classification, phenology (greenness), and soil moisture anomalies (through a land surface model spinup) in coupled prediction models.

Urban land use dynamics, the nexus between land use pattern and its challenges: The case of Hawassa city, Southern Ethiopia

This study makes an attempt to explore where? what land use type? causes enormous land use change over time in Hawassa city? It discusses the rate of urban expansion in the study area along historical lines. Besides, it identifies the major actors in urban land use dynamics. Furthermore, it evaluates and discusses the practicability of the 2006 land use plan of the city. The study was primarily carried out in the 3 purposefully selected kebeles of Hawassa city: Dato, Tilte and Fara. Primary data was obtained from 200 surveyed households which were proportionally distributed to the study kebeles; semi-structured interviews which were carried out with 16 key informants and through field observation. Secondary data was collected by reviewing published and unpublished documents [Image and written]. Data was analyzed quantitatively [using ratios, percentages] and qualitatively [thematic description of issues]. Besides, GIS and ERDAS Imagine software were employed to analyze image data. The study revealed abnormal informal land market as the major cause for land use change. Lack of well-documented land information systems; unfair access to formal land; and lack of formal land allocation were underlined to be the major reasons for the proliferation of informality [mainly causing land use change in the urban fringe]. Infill development has signified efficient utilization of land; nevertheless, it resulted in unexpected evictions and disturbing of the scenic urban fabric. Farmers eviction from their holdings with little or no compensation in the urban fringe; the use of urban green areas for housing and offices development within the city; and environmental sanitation problems due to congested settlement were conceived as challenges. The study revealed about nine (9) land use types from the 2006 land use plan of the city, nevertheless; there exists disparity between planning and its implementation. Therefore, local land managers should give due emphasis to mitigate informal land market, its actors and the associated problems through appropriate policy intervention: developing land information systems; awareness creation among actors of land use [farmers, speculators, brokers and the people at large]; promoting urban good governance; and community participation at the local level.

Integrated modeling of aerosol, cloud, precipitation and land processes at satellite-resolved scales

With support from NASA's Modeling and Analysis Program, we have recently developed the NASA Unified-Weather Research and Forecasting model (NU-WRF). NU-WRF is an observation-driven integrated modeling system that represents aerosol, cloud, precipitation and land processes at satellite-resolved scales. “Satellite-resolved” scales (roughly 1–25 km), bridge the continuum between local (microscale), regional (mesoscale) and global (synoptic) processes. NU-WRF is a superset of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Advanced Research WRF (ARW) dynamical core model, achieved by fully integrating the GSFC Land Information System (LIS, already coupled to WRF), the WRF/Chem enabled version of the GOddard Chemistry Aerosols Radiation Transport (GOCART) model, the Goddard Satellite Data Simulation Unit (G-SDSU), and custom boundary/initial condition preprocessors into a single software release, with source code available by agreement with NASA/GSFC. Full coupling between aerosol, cloud, precipitation and land processes is critical for predicting local and regional water and energy cycles.

Ingestion of Simulated SMAP L3 Soil Moisture Data into Military Maneuver Planning

Abstract This paper uses simulated SMAP level-3 (L3) soil moisture data to calculate soil strength directly and compares the results against the current Noah Land Information System–based climatology approach. Based on the availability of data, three sites were chosen for the study: Cheorwon, South Korea; Laboue, Lebanon; and Asham, Nigeria. The simulated SMAP satellite data are representative of May conditions. For all three regions, this is best represented by the “average” soil moisture used in the current climatology approach. The cumulative distribution frequency of the two soil moisture sources indicates good agreement at Asham, Nigeria; mixed agreement at Cheorwon, South Korea; and no agreement at Laboue, Lebanon. Soil strengths and resulting vehicle speeds for a High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) M1097 were calculated based on the Harmonized World Soil Database soil types used by the two soil moisture sources, as well as with a finer-resolution National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency product. Better agreement was found in soil strengths using the finer-resolution soil product. Finally, fairly large differences in soil moisture become muted in the speed calculations even when all factors except soil strength, slope, and vehicle performance are neglected. It is expected that the 0.04 volumetric uncertainty in the final SMAP L3 soil moisture product will have the greatest effect at low vehicle speeds. Field measurements of soil moisture and strength as well as soil type are needed to verify the results.

Land Information System Using Cadastral Techniques, Mining Area of Raniganj, Barddhaman District, India

Land Information System Using Cadastral Techniques, Mining Area of Raniganj, Barddhaman District, India

Sustainability of land and buildings database records, shown in the example of Zabratówka village, consolidated in 1995

Human activity is causing permanent changes within the space. As a consequence of these changes, a huge diversity of soil usage is to be observed. Land and buildings database records, widely used in land resource management in Poland, amend all the detailed inventory rules, drawing up of a code of conduct, regulating change updating as well as land information-sharing. Such database exchange, between diff erent land information systems is characterized by a diff erent sustainability level, and therefore shows the tabular part containing detailed descriptive, cartographic results as outdated [5]. The biggest and the most common changes are to be observed in the agricultural land use. The size of the undergoing changes is not of the same importance when it comes to the property rights and the ways they are exercised. Particular circumstances relate to the changes in land-holding structure of lands under Austrian rule (Malopolskie, Podkarpackie and partially Śląskie Voivodship). After the emancipation of the peasants in 1848, the area was recognized as regulated by the law applicable to the succession. It subsequently led to its fragmentation (as a result of a farm employment and overpopulation) [4]. Changes were to come also in terms of the individual land legal status, which was regulated by the clarifi cation of land status with regard to land ownership issues in 1971 [9]. In addition to the factors mentioned, general economic and social conditions play here a part together with the att ractiveness or localization or residential development in the rural area. This issue determines my thesis, and the change in land registers analysis, accompanied by the thorough evaluation will be shown in the example of Zabratowka village, consolidaed in 1995. Zabratowka village was chosen deliberately. One of the main reasons was that it was consolidated, which corresponds with the sustainability level, confi rmed by scientifi c researches as more reliable [1]. The second issue is the location. Zabratowka is situated near Rzeszow urban sett lement.

천안시 마을습지 인벤토리구축 및 보전전략

This study was conducted to establish inventory and propose conservation strategy of 'village wetlands' in Cheonan. As results, the village wetlands are defined as such places as palustrine wetland, village embankment, agricultural reservoir or small reservoirs located in or near the village and related to everyday life or farming. Firstly 791 provisional village wetlands were identified in Cheonan by using Arc-GIS 10.1, then 104 wetlands were defined as village wetlands and listed the inventory of Cheonan Village Wetlands after being validated through their area (greater than <TEX>$1,000m^2$</TEX>), satellite images, Korea Land Information System, land use map, land coverage map and field survey. Finally the 49 wetlands were selected for detailed surveying, and function assessment. As the result of the wetland function assessments, 11 wetlands were found to have 'high' wetland function (conservation) 30 wetlands were 'average' (enhancement) and 8 wetlands were 'low' (restoration or enhancement). Enhancing biodiversity and ecosystem services through ecological management of wetlands in Cheonan and connecting with an ecological network were proposed.

Decision support for prioritising of land to be preserved for agriculture: Can participatory tool development help?

When rural planning complexity increases, such as in rural areas with a high urbanisation pressure, decision support tools can assist in determining which agricultural land should be given priority for preservation. Theoretically, traditional land valuation methods can cope with the multiple criteria at stake, but literature reveals a gap between the analytical potential of these methods and their actual use by the various stakeholders. This paper describes the participatory development and use of a new planning decision support tool called Agricultural Land Information System (ALIS) built to support prioritisation of land to be preserved for agriculture. Exploratory research reveals how the intended end users’ participation in ALIS’s development helped to prevent the implementation gap. The process directly and indirectly contributed to the fulfilment of success factors for tool implementation and to the initiation of a multi-tiered learning process. As such, ALIS does not represent a technical breakthrough, but its innovation lies in the participatory development and use. Examples given in this paper, e.g. on match–mismatch analysis, show how the participatory process leads to the inclusion of features that can widen the scope of land valuation methods and enable the user to think more deeply, more creatively and in a context-specific manner.

Assessing the Impact of L-Band Observations on Drought and Flood Risk Estimation: A Decision-Theoretic Approach in an OSSE Environment

AbstractObserving system simulation experiments (OSSEs) are often conducted to evaluate the worth of existing data and data yet to be collected from proposed new missions. As missions increasingly require a broader “Earth systems” focus, it is important that the OSSEs capture the potential benefits of the observations on end-use applications. Toward this end, the results from the OSSEs must also be evaluated with a suite of metrics that capture the value, uncertainty, and information content of the observations while factoring in both science and societal impacts. This article presents a soil moisture OSSE that employs simulated L-band measurements and assesses its utility toward improving drought and flood risk estimates using the NASA Land Information System (LIS). A decision-theory-based analysis is conducted to assess the economic utility of the observations toward improving these applications. The results suggest that the improvements in surface soil moisture, root-zone soil moisture, and total runoff fields obtained through the assimilation of L-band measurements are effective in providing improvements in the drought and flood risk assessments as well. The decision-theory analysis not only demonstrates the economic utility of observations but also shows that the use of probabilistic information from the model simulations is more beneficial compared to the use of corresponding deterministic estimates. The experiment also demonstrates the value of a comprehensive modeling environment such as LIS for conducting end-to-end OSSEs by linking satellite observations, physical models, data assimilation algorithms, and end-use application models in a single integrated framework.

Rapid urbanisation and slum upgrading: What can land surveyors do?

This paper aims at understanding the domain of rapid urbanisation and slum upgrading. Therefore it collects facts in order to clarify the status quo. The paper highlights relevant aspects, such as development of new forms of spatial planning, modern slum upgrading methods, provision of security to flexible people–land relationships, linking informality and formality and enhancing land and property tax revenue to facilitate urban services. It appears that for all aspects, a role for the land surveying profession can be formulated. This role requires mastering the newest geospatial and non-spatial technologies, and the capability to design and maintain cost-effective land information systems, which can deliver relevant services to urban residents and city managers.

Assessing the Quality Land Administration System in Pakistan Using Systematic Approach of Case Study Methodology

Land Information System is a tool for legal, administrative and economic decision making as well as an aid for planning and development. The present land administration system in Pakistan is entirely based on paper land records and maps lacking standards with outdated information stored at different administrative levels. Such practice restricts the usefulness of reliable and quality land information for supporting tenure security to citizens, socio-economic development, and urban/rural development including infrastructure. This situation demands for a methodological framework to assess the quality of the existing system before going to take necessary action for quality improvement. There have been a few efforts to standardize the procedures for assessing the quality of land administration systems at international level but there is no internationally accepted or standardized method to assess the quality of a standalone land administration system within a country’s environment. To be able to assess the quality of a standalone land administration system, this paper develops a methodological framework for assessing the quality of the existing land administration system in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan through systematic use of case study methodology including both exploratory and explanatory case study approaches. The main outcomes of this research leads to a standardized framework that can be used for assessing the quality of a standalone land administration system within a country’s environment.

Understanding the Weak Performance of Technology in Urban Management

The article questions the appropriation of existing urban planning and management tools in Sub-Saharan Africa, through a multiple case study: the implementation of a land information system (or simplified cadastre) in three cities in Benin. An ethnographic exploration of the use of the tool is conducted. The first section presents the historical context of the design of land information systems, framed by the urban management paradigm, and unwarranted confidence in new technologies. The second section presents the theoretical framework and the methodology of the research, inspired by public policy analysis and development anthropology. The third section describes findings of the multiple case studies. A vicious circle is highlighted, made up of: lack of political support, obsolescence, and decline of cost-effectiveness. The fourth section discusses the results of the ethnographic inquiry. These are, essentially, the interpretation of the paradoxes, blockages, and conflicts in the implementation of the tool in light of social, political and economic dynamics that take place at the local level, although unexpected by the creators of the tool.

Herramientas de apoyo a la toma de decisiones y prospectiva territorial

En la Provincia de Santa Cruz el área cordillerana es la más postergada en términos de poblamiento y cualificación de sus territorios. En este espacio de cerca de 100.000 km2 ubicado sobre la traza de la Ruta Nacional 40 y la frontera con Chile, cinco municipios y tres comisiones de fomento reunían en 2001 menos de 25.000 habitantes. Estos espacios experimentan particularmente desde fines del Siglo pasado profundas transformaciones territoriales: penetración de nuevas actividades y capitales, acelerada inserción en mercados internacionales y modificaciones en las relaciones entre grupos sociales afectando las formas de organización de la producción y del espacio.Las dinámicas de las actividades dominantes son fundamentalmente extractivas, como la minería y la explotación de hidrocarburos, que lentamente se despliega hacia el oeste provincial, determinadas por un escenario internacional de disputa por la valoración y el acceso a recursos naturales entre grandes empresas trasnacionales y sociedades.El plan se encuadró en el Subproyecto Herramientas de apoyo a la toma de decisiones del Proyecto de Investigación UNPA 29 A/254-2 Desarrollo territorial y recursos naturales en el espacio cordillerano santacruceño. Potencialidades, vulnerabilidades y proyectos regionales dirigido por Alejandro Schweitzer y codirigido por Boris Díaz. A tal efecto se trabajó en particular en torno al estudio de indicadores de desarrollo territorial y la integración de unidades espaciales en el marco de su incorporación a los sistemas de información territorial y la captura y procesamiento de información en campo por medio de entrevistas e inventarios particularmente sobre la Micro-Región de Río Turbio.

Coupling formalized knowledge bases with object-based image analysis

Object-based image analysis (OBIA) is a widely used method for knowledge-based interpretation of very high resolution imagery. It relies on expert knowledge to classify the desired classes from the imagery at hand. The definition of classes is subjective, usually project-specific and not shared with the community. Ontologies as a form of knowledge representation technique are acknowledged as solution to establish and document class definitions independently of an OBIA framework. However, ontologies have not yet been strongly integrated in this image analysis framework. This paper presents a method to automatically integrate ontologies in OBIA. The method has been implemented as a tool to be used with the eCognition® software (Trimble, Sunnyvale, CA, USA). A case study was conducted for classifying the land cover classes defined by the Environment Agency of Austria in the Land Information System Austria (LISA) project using WorldView-2 image. The strength of this approach is the direct integration of ontologies into the OBIA process, which reduces the effort necessary to define the classes for image analysis and simultaneously reduces its subjectivity.

Land cover of Mauritius Island

In this digital era, high-resolution imagery offers a rapid and inexpensive means of monitoring land use changes. Digitally monitoring dynamic landscape change is a versatile way of facilitating rapid strategic decision making in a sustainable manner in a world of increasing complexity. Whilst a cadastral land information system is useful as a database, its use is limited for research purposes involving the manipulation of images – such as in studying flood-prone areas or land erosion susceptibility. In this paper, we report a land cover map for Mauritius Island (1859 km2), in the Indian Ocean, at a scale of 1:100,000 (A1-size paper). Inputs used to create the map are a SPOT satellite image, published map series at 1:25,000 scale, and selected ground truth surveys for validation. In total, 11 feature types, which are representative of the island's surface cover, have been mapped.

A Real-Time MODIS Vegetation Product for Land Surface and Numerical Weather Prediction Models

A technique is presented to produce real-time, daily vegetation composites at 0.01 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">°</sup> resolution ( ~ 1 km) over the Conterminous United States (CONUS) for use in the NASA Land Information System (LIS) and weather prediction models. Green vegetation fraction (GVF) is derived from direct-broadcast swaths of normalized difference vegetation index from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the NASA Earth Observing System satellites. The real-time data and increased resolution compared to the 0.144 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">°</sup> ( ~ 16 km) resolution monthly GVF climatology in community models result in an improved representation of vegetation in high-resolution models, especially in complex terrain. The MODIS GVF fields show seasonal variations that are similar to the community model climatology, and respond realistically to temperature and precipitation anomalies. The wet spring and summer 2010 over the U.S. Plains led to higher regional GVF than in the climatology. The GVF substantially decreased over the U.S. Southern Plains from 2010 to 2011, consistent with the transition to extreme drought in summer 2011. LIS simulations depict substantial sensitivity to the MODIS GVF, with regional changes in heat fluxes around 100 Wm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">-2</sup> over the northern U.S. in June 2010. CONUS LIS simulations during the 2010 warm season indicate that the larger MODIS GVF in the western U.S. led to higher latent heat fluxes and initially lower sensible heat fluxes, with a net drying effect on the soil. With time, the drier soil eventually lead to higher mean sensible heat fluxes such that the total surface energy output increased by late summer 2010 over the western U.S. A sensitivity simulation of a severe weather event using real-time MODIS GVF data results in systematic changes to low-level temperature, moisture, and instability fields, and improves the evolution of simulated precipitation.

Analysis and Development of Land Information System of Bauchi State soil types capabilities in Enhancing Crop Production

This research paper is focused on the analysis and development of a land information system for the different soil types in Bauchi State and their capabilities in enhanced crop productivity, which covers the whole of Bauchi State .the execution of this project, was carried out in two different stages namely: The design stage and the implementation stage. The development of the LIS was facilitated by obtaining a clear and properly identified map of the study area, which was eventually scanned and saved in JPEG format. The scanned map was further geo-referenced and digitized on software and exported to the ARCVIEW GIS9.3 software. The graphics were linked with a created spatial database; the developed system was then put to the test by carrying out a number of GIS operation and analysis called queries (Kufoniyi, 1998). The queries were then generated to help in the identification and differentiation of the various soil types existing in Bauchi as well as their capabilities as regards to the types of crops planted in Bauchi state in other to device means for which production can further be enhanced.

Avstrijski zemljiški kataster: od prvih začetkov do sodobnega zemljiškega informacijskega sistema

The objective of this discussion is the Austrian land cadastre, which forms the basis of the Austrian land information system, together with the land registry. From a data structure perspective, the Austrian land cadastre is a traditional parcel-oriented system and includes a geometric description of land plots linked to other records describing the nature of the land plots. The changeable institutional (legal) framework was shaped the continuous development of the Austrian land cadastre since the first systematic land survey and cadastral mapping at the beginning of the 19th century. With the progress of information technology in recent decades, it has been developed into a contemporary land information system, which (together with the land registry) provides up-to-date land information. It has to be emphasized that the current land cadastre still contains some data from its very beginning and, for this reason, the historical development of this evidence, including data sources, is of great importance for users of these data. The first part of the article provides an introduction to the historical development of the Austrian land cadastre, followed by the presentation of contents and procedures of the current land cadastre.

Studies on renovation of cadastral sheets for urbanisation

In this article, the renovation of the insufficient cadastral sheets in Turkey is investigated. After the information on cadastre and renovation is presented in detail, the samples are given from different villages in Center Town of Osmaniye in the line of the renovation process sequence to enrich the application. Osmaniye is a new and developing city. Therefore, it has a rapid urbanisation. It is sure that the accurate and updated maps are needed in the environment of this rapid urbanisation. Also, this renovation is an important step for a strong urbanisation and land information system with actual and accurate data.

Potential Use of GPS Technology For Cadastral Surveys in Nepal

Global Positional Systems (GPS) now is competing with traditional surveying techniques in almost all fields of geodesy and cadastral surveying after the availability of highly productive new systems such as Real Time Kinematic (RTK) systems along with the use of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). Although the cadastral mapping of the entire Nepal was completed in 1996 using graphical survey with plane table technique, derived information from the existing maps now are outdated and do not fulfil the needs of the general public. Updating cadastral maps is not only necessary but vital in Nepal. Survey Department under the Ministry of Land Reforms &amp; Management, Government of Nepal now has to adopt an appropriate innovative approach for cadastral mapping in the country in order to meet the growing public demands on reliable land information system, to provide speedy land administrative services as well as for overall development of the country. With continual research and development into GPS, the techniques and systems developed have become more reliable, cheaper and more productive, making GPS more attractive for a range of surveying solutions including cadastral mapping. Though high resources may be initially required for the RTK GPS technology for cadastral surveys in Nepal when compared to presently available optical surveying techniques, it would be justifiable in investing in GPS surveys. This technology, however, will not replace the existing survey techniques but it will provide another means in carrying out cadastral surveys especially in the area where the conventional technique is not economically and temporally viable. Nepalese Journal on Geoinformatics -12, 2070 (2013AD): 33-40