Land Use Change Dynamics Research Articles

Climatic Drivers of Greening Trends in the Alps

Since the 1980s, vegetated lands have experienced widespread greening at the global scale. Numerous studies have focused on spatial patterns and mechanisms of this phenomenon, especially in the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. Greening trends in the European Alps have received less attention, although this region has experienced strong climate and land-use changes during recent decades. We studied the rates and spatial patterns of greening in an inner-alpine region of the Western Alps. We used MODIS-derived normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) at 8-day temporal and 250 m spatial resolution, for the period 2000–2018, and removed areas with disturbances in order to consider the trends of undisturbed vegetation. The objectives of this study were to (i) quantify trends of greening in a representative area of the Western Alps; and (ii) examine mechanisms and causes of spatial patterns of greening across different plant types. We show that 63% of vegetated areas experienced significant trends during the 2000–2018 period, of which only 8% were negative. We identify (i) a climatic control on spring and autumn phenology with contrasting effects depending on plant type and elevation, and (ii) land-use change dynamics, such as shrub encroachment on abandoned pastures and colonization of new surfaces at high elevation. Below 1500 m, warming temperatures promote incremental greening in the transition from spring to summer, but not in fall, suggesting either photoperiod or water limitation. In the alpine and sub-alpine belts (>1800 m asl), snow prevents vegetation development until late spring, despite favorable temperatures. Instead, at high elevation greening acts both in summer and autumn. However, photoperiod limitation likely prevents forested ecosystems from fully exploiting warmer autumn conditions. We furthermore illustrate two emblematic cases of prominent greening: recent colonization of previously glaciated/non vegetated areas, as well as shrub/tree encroachment due to the abandonment of agricultural practices. Our results demonstrate the interplay of climate and land-use change in controlling greening dynamics in the Western Alps.

Dynamics of Land Use and Land Cover Changes in Harare, Zimbabwe: A Case Study on the Linkage between Drivers and the Axis of Urban Expansion

With increasing population growth, the Harare Metropolitan Province has experienced accelerated land use and land cover (LULC) changes, influencing the city’s growth. This study aims to assess spatiotemporal urban LULC changes, the axis, and patterns of growth as well as drivers influencing urban growth over the past three decades in the Harare Metropolitan Province. The analysis was based on remotely sensed Landsat Thematic Mapper and Operational Land Imager data from 1984–2018, GIS application, and binary logistic regression. Supervised image classification using support vector machines was performed on Landsat 5 TM and Landsat 8 OLI data combined with the soil adjusted vegetation index, enhanced built-up and bareness index and modified difference water index. Statistical modelling was performed using binary logistic regression to identify the influence of the slope and the distance proximity characters as independent variables on urban growth. The overall mapping accuracy for all time periods was over 85%. Built-up areas extended from 279.5 km2 (1984) to 445 km2 (2018) with high-density residential areas growing dramatically from 51.2 km2 (1984) to 218.4 km2 (2018). The results suggest that urban growth was influenced mainly by the presence and density of road networks.

Analysis of Changes in Forest Structure using Point Clouds from Historical Aerial Photographs

Dynamic changes in land use, many of which are related to land abandonment, are taking place in many regions of the world. As a result, forest vegetation appears, which in part is a consequence of planned afforestation programs and in part has the characteristics of secondary forest succession. Monitoring of forest structure allows the range and dynamics of such changes to be identified. The aim of the study was to assess the usefulness of historical aerial photographs in the determination of forest structure. On the basis of such data, a point cloud was created which represented the forest structure in 1966. Subsequently, using airborne laser scanning data for the same area, corresponding datasets describing the situation in 2012 were created. Comparison of the two tall vegetation models made it possible to perform four analyses related to forest structure changes over a period of 46 years. The analyses were carried out in four areas in southern Poland. The analysis of the results confirmed that historical aerial photographs may be a valuable source in long-term analyses of changes in the range and height structure of areas containing tall vegetation.

Conversion of forestlands to blueberries: Assessing implications for habitat quality in Alabaha river watershed in Southeastern Georgia, United States

This study assesses the dynamics of land use changes (LUCs) and its effects on the habitat quality in the Alabaha River watershed (985 km2) located in southeastern Georgia, where about 3940 ha of evergreen forest and pasture/hay moved to blueberries between 2010 and 2017. Four (2006, 2010, 2015, and 2017) land use maps were prepared with an overall accuracy of 89% using supervised classification methods. Based on these maps, LUCs for the year 2022 and 2030 were projected using Markov Multi-Layer Perceptron approach. FRAGSTATS was used to assess changes in landscape configuration and composition over time. Using the InVEST model, changes in habitat quality were quantified over time. The model projected that the land under evergreen forest and pasture/hay would decrease by 2% and 1.5%, respectively, whereas the land under blueberry would increase by 3.7% between 2015 and 2030. The Index of Landscape Conservation declined by 19% between 2006 and 2030. The mean habitat quality decreased by 37% in the same period. The areas of high habitat quality were concentrated in regions with less-modified land cover. A collaborative approach involving stakeholder groups is needed for the management of biodiversity and other ESs in the Alabaha River watershed in the context of deforestation caused by blueberry production.

Tropical deforestation drivers and associated carbon emission factors derived from remote sensing data

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and enhancing carbon stocks (REDD+) is a crucial component of global climate change mitigation. Remote sensing can provide continuous and spatially explicit above-ground biomass (AGB) estimates, which can be valuable for the quantification of carbon stocks and emission factors (EFs). Unfortunately, there is little information on the fate of the land following tropical deforestation and of the associated carbon stock. This study quantified post-deforestation land use across the tropics for the period 1990–2000. This dataset was then combined with a pan-tropical AGB map at 30 m resolution to refine EFs from forest conversion by matching deforestation areas with their carbon stock before and after clearing and to assess spatial dynamics of EFs by follow-up land use. In Latin America, pasture was the most common follow-up land use (72%), with large-scale cropland (11%) a distant second. In Africa deforestation was often followed by small-scale cropping (61%) with a smaller role for pasture (15%). In Asia, small-scale cropland was the dominant agricultural follow-up land use (35%), closely followed by tree crops (28%). Deforestation often occurred in forests with lower than average carbon stocks. EFs showed high spatial variation within eco-zones and countries. While our EFs are only representative for the studied time period, our results show that EFs are mainly determined by the initial forest carbon stock. The estimates of the fraction of carbon lost were less dependent on initial forest biomass, which offers opportunities for REDD+ countries to use these fractions in combination with recent good quality national forest biomass maps or inventory data to quantify emissions from specific forest conversions. Our study highlights that the co-location of data on forest loss, biomass and fate of the land provides more insight into the spatial dynamics of land-use change and can help in attributing carbon emissions to human activities.

Unravelling the Frontiers of Urban Growth: Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Land-Use Change and Urban Expansion in Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, Ghana

This study analyzed and assessed spatio-temporal dynamics of land-use change (LUC) and urban expansion (UE) within the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) of Ghana. This region serves as a case to illustrate how a major economic hub and political core area is experiencing massive spatial transformations, resulting in uneven geographies of urban land expansion. Quickbird/Worldview-2 images for the years 2008 and 2017 were segmented and classified to produce LUC maps. LUC and UE were analyzed by post-classification change detection and spatial metrics, respectively. The results revealed an intensive decrease in open-space by 83.46 km2, brushland/farmland (194.29 km2) and waterbody/wetland (3.32 km2). Conversely, forestland and urban built-up area increased by 3.45 km2 and 277.62 km2. Urban extent expanded from 411.45 km2 (27%) in 2008 to 689.07 km2 (46%) in 2017 at a rate of 5.9% and an intensity of 2.06% with an expansion coefficient of 1.5%, indicating low-density urban sprawl. The spatial pattern turned out to be an uneven and spatially differentiated outward expansion, which materialized mainly in districts located within the urban peripheries but intensely towards eastern and western directions, being the frontier and the hotspots of urbanization. Overall, the findings bear important implications for regional spatial planning and development.

Sustainable Settlement Development: Land Use Change in Lakeside Tourism of Bandung

This article is based on research to analyze the spatial land use development in two lakesides of peri-urban Bandung, Cileunca and Ciburuy lakes. In developing countries, fast-growing populations, urbanization, and rising economic sectors cause a vast demand for residential areas and supporting facilities for the residents, work labors, and office workers. Consequently, in able to deliver those demands, development in the peri-urban area is inevitable. In peri-urban Bandung, some developments tend to happen nearby the lakes; it provides the source for water, basic sanitation, and recreational space for surrounding residents and visitors. Later, the dynamic change of land use also occurs, following the rapid expansion of industrial area and tourism business. Sustainable housing development in urban Bandung is arguably integrated into those dynamic activities of the peri-urban. The method of this research is comparing spatial transformation and empirical investigation to evaluate the driving forces behind the land use conversion in Lakeside area of peri-urban Bandung. The results show that the development and land use alteration in Situ Cileunca’s lakeside settlement area is intensifying after the tourism activities take place. Conversely, industrial expansion and proximity to Bandung city more likely influence the development of physical infrastructure in Situ Ciburuy’s lakeside.

Impacts of Land-Use Changes on Soil Erosion in Water–Wind Crisscross Erosion Region of China

Soil erosion affects food production, biodiversity, biogeochemical cycles, hydrology, and climate. Land-use changes accelerated by intensive human activities are a dominant anthropogenic factor inducing soil erosion globally. However, the impacts of land-use-type changes on soil erosion dynamics over a continuous period for constructing a sustainable ecological environment has not been systematically quantified. This study investigates the spatial–temporal dynamics of land-use change and soil erosion across a specific area in China with water–wind crisscross erosion during three periods: 1995–1999, 2000–2005, and 2005–2010. We analyzed the impacts of each land-use-type conversion on the intensity changes of soil erosion caused by water and wind, respectively. The major findings include: (1) land-use change in the water–wind crisscross erosion region of China was characterized as cultivated land expansion at the main cost of grassland during 1995–2010; (2) the strongest land-use change moved westward in space from the central Loess Plateau area in 1995–2005 to the western piedmont alluvial area in 2005–2010; (3) soil erosion area is continuously increasing, but the trend is declining from the late 1990s to the late 2000s; (4) the soil conservation capability of land-use types in water–wind crisscross erosion regions could be compiled from high to low as high coverage grasslands, medium coverage grasslands, paddy, drylands, low coverage grasslands, built-up lands, unused land of sandy lands, the Gobi Desert, and bare soil. These findings could provide some insights for executing reasonable land-use approaches to balance human demands and environment sustainability.

Rethinking the politics of land-use change: Insights from the rise of the industrial tree plantation sector in Southern China

This paper explores the distinct dynamics of land-use change in the context of the rise of the industrial tree plantation (ITP) sector in Southern China, considering both land access and three political-economic control mechanisms. It demonstrates that the expansion of the ITP sector in Southern China involves multiple directions of land-use change. It argues that land-use change does not solely result from personal economic decisions based on one’s land access, but is also affected by political economic circumstances. In other words, having land access does not necessarily secure full control over land use. Instead, a series of structural and relational factors, including state and corporate interventions “from above”, political reactions “from below”, and interactions of the two – serve to drive forward, block or modify the direction of land-use change, even though they might not affect land access. In highlighting these factors, this piece hopes to shift attention from land access to land control and thus contribute to a fuller understanding of land-use politics not only in China, but also in other regions of the world.

Study on land-use and land-cover change dynamics in Eastern Arunachal Pradesh, N.E. India using remote sensing and GIS

The current study describes the land use and land cover dynamics in Eastern Arunachal Pradesh from 1985 to 2005 using remote sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS). Landsat-MSS, IRS-LISS-I and LISS-III data for the period 1985, 1995 and 2005 were used to prepare the land use/land cover (LULC) map at 1:250K for different periods. Post-classification change detection technique for quantifying the changes for twelve major land use and land cover types was analyzed. The study signifies that the region experiences expansion in crop land and built-up area and decline in forest area. Crop land and built-up area has increased by 665.41 km2 and 16.72 km2, respectively, from 1985 to 2005. On the other hand, forest area has declined by 699.37 km2 during the period. The study showed that topography and increasing population play an important role in shaping the LULC pattern. The study further revealed the importance of satellite remote sensing and GIS as an effective approach for analyzing the direction, rate and spatial pattern of land use dynamics. It is believed that this type of study will help to contribute towards sustainable land-use planning and management in this part of the North East India in the near future.

Analysis of spatio-temporal dynamics of land use and cover changes in Western Kenya

The western region of Kenya is experiencing remarkable land changes resulting from population growth and related impacts. The study used remote sensing and GIS techniques to analyze the land use/cover changes in the years 1995, 2001, 2010 and 2017. Multi-spectral Landsat (TM, ETM + and OLI) images were pre-processed and classified using maximum likelihood algorithm in ENVI version 5.4. The overall classification accuracies in all the images were more than 80%. The results revealed major conversions of each land use/land cover type in varying trends and magnitudes. Between 1995 and 2001, there was an increase in built-up areas by 71%, forest cover by 43%, farms by 5%; and decrease in grassland by 47%. By 2017, the built-up areas had increased by 225% and farms by 17%; the forestland, grassland and water reduced by 38, 10 and 11%, respectively. The observed changes are characterized by increased settlements and encroachment of sensitive ecosystems.

Land use/land cover dynamics in response to various driving forces in Didessa sub-basin, Ethiopia

This study analyzes land use/land cover dynamics in response to socioeconomic, political and climatic forces in the Didessa sub-basin of Blue Nile, Ethiopia for 1974–2014 using remote sensing, field observation and information from local people. A rapid reduction of wetland (97.5%), grass land (76%), forest land (50.6%) and shrub land (38.2%) took place in four decades (1974–2014). On the other hand, settlement increased extraordinarily (17,960.8%), while the size of cultivated land increased more than a fold (44.2%). Commercial farm land increased more than fivefold (414.4%). According to key informants, major events that largely explain the changes include: (1) drought and social unrest (e.g. Conflict and war); (2) demographic factors (resettlement and migration); (3) land tenure reform and political changes; (4) economic factors and decline in agricultural productivity. If the present land use/land cover changes continue coupled with climate change, people’s livelihoods will be highly affected and agricultural production system will be under increasing threat. This study suggests the restructuring of land use planning supposed to be based on land suitability and sustainable protection of fragile environments. These findings contribute to the understanding of patterns of the dynamics of historical land use change to predict the future dynamics at landscape scale to contribute for effective management strategies and policies for the rational use of land and land related resources.

What are the merits of endogenising land-use change dynamics into model-based climate adaptation planning?

Integrated assessment models often treat land-use change as an external driving force. In reality, land-use is influenced by environmental conditions. This paper explores the merits of endogenising land-use change, i.e. making the land-use change a dynamic internal process, in models used for supporting climate adaptation planning. For this purpose, we extend the Waas model, a hypothetical case study used before for testing new model-based climate adaptation approaches. We use a utility-based land-use change model for endogenising the land-use dynamics, evaluate its implications, and identify the conditions under which it becomes important. We find that endogenising land-use dynamics changes the performance of the policies, allows for assessing policies that affect land-use, and widens the outcomes of interest that can be considered. The relevancy of endogenising land-use dynamics depends on (i) the expected severity of future climate change, (ii) the society’s sensitivity to climate events, and (iii) the types of policy options that decision makers want to evaluate. Ignoring the interaction between the environment and the society (in this case land-use) can result in both under- and overestimation of the impacts of adaptation and might limit the adaptation options that are considered.

Predicting the land use and land cover change using Markov model: A catchment level analysis of the Bhagirathi-Hugli River

Land use and land cover are important biophysical factors which have a major role in different terrestrial processes on the earth. Land use and land cover change are a vital element of global environmental change. It is very essential for regional development and land use management towards sustainable development. The different time’s period satellite images in the study area have been studied to understand temporal as well as the spatial variability of land use and land cover (LULC) change. In this, an attempt was made to adopt the Markov model for obtaining and investigating the dynamics of land use change. Markov model was used as a stochastic model to make quantitative comparisons of the land-use changes between time periods extending from 2001 to 2010. Model performance was evaluated between the empirical LULC map obtained extracted from Landsat 8 (2017) image and the simulated LULC map obtained from the Markov model. The future land use distribution in the year 2019 and 2028 was acquired using a Markov model. This result shows that the Markov model and geospatial technology together are able to effectively capture the spatiotemporal trend in the landscape pattern in this study area.

Local Perception of Drivers of Land-Use and Land-Cover Change Dynamics across Dedza District, Central Malawi Region

Research on Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) dynamics, and an understanding of the drivers responsible for these changes, are very crucial for modelling future LULC changes and the formulation of sustainable and robust land-management strategies and policy decisions. This study adopted a mixed method consisting of remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS)-based analysis, focus-group discussions, key informant interviews, and semi-structured interviews covering 586 households to assess LULC dynamics and associated LULC change drivers across the Dedza district, a central region of Malawi. GIS-based analysis of remotely sensed data revealed that barren land and built-up areas extensively increased at the expense of agricultural and forest land between 1991 and 2015. Analysis of the household-survey results revealed that the perceptions of respondents tended to validate the observed patterns during the remotely sensed data-analysis phase of the research, with 57.3% (n = 586) of the respondents reporting a decline in agricultural land use, and 87.4% (n = 586) observing a decline in forest areas in the district. Furthermore, firewood collection, charcoal production, population growth, and poverty were identified as the key drivers of these observed LULC changes in the study area. Undoubtedly, education has emerged as a significant factor influencing respondents’ perceptions of these drivers of LULC changes. However, unsustainable LULC changes observed in this study have negative implications on rural livelihoods and natural-resource management. Owing to the critical role that LULC dynamics play to rural livelihoods and the ecosystem, this study recommends further research to establish the consequences of these changes. The present study and future research will support decision makers and planners in the design of tenable and coherent land-management strategies.

Analysis on the Comprehensive Utilization Degree of Typical Villages in the Agricultural-Pastoral Intersection of Horqin Sandy Land from 1990 to 2015 Taking Mother and Son Mountain Village of Chifeng City as an example

The eco-environment in the agro-pastoral ecotone of Horqin sandy land is fragile and the land use is unreasonable. Based on the typical mother-son mountain villages in ecological environment, population and economy, and according to the interpretation data of remote sensing images and field survey data, the present situation and dynamic changes of land use in the village area were quantitatively analyzed from the micro perspective. The results show that the cultivated land area of Mother and Son Mountain Village village has fluctuated in the past 25 years, increasing from 836.53 hm2 in 1990 to 1011.01 hm2 in 2000 and decreasing to 651.23 hm2 in 2015; the pasture area has decreased from 1437.15 hm2 in 1990 to 675.8259 hm2 in 2015; the grassland coverage has decreased, and the grassland with high coverage has decreased in 1990. The annual proportion of grassland area was 13.58%, which decreased to 0 in 2015; the forest coverage increased rapidly from 17.6% in 1990 to 53.1% in 2015; and the desertification land area decreased sharply from 13% in 1988 to 3%. In the past 25 years, the land use change index of Mt. Mozi is 9.35. The degree of human land change is increasing, and the relationship between human and land is becoming closer and closer. The degree of land use has changed from low level to high level. The main reasons are population factors, changes in livestock and the results of the adjustment of national policies.The farming-pastoral ecotone in Horqin Sandy Land includes Horqin Right Wing Middle Banner of Xingan League, Tongliao City and Chifeng City, each of which has a total land area of about 142,500 km2 and a population of 6.167 million, of which the rural population is 493,480,000 [1]. Historically, the area was dominated by animal husbandry, with abundant aquatic plants and cattle and sheep everywhere. Due to the rapid growth of population and unreasonable land use over a long period of time, the ecological system of the area was degraded and the economic development was backward. Fourteen of the 16 banner counties belonged to poverty-stricken counties. Reasonable land use is the key to ensure the ecological security and economic development of the region. Relevant experts and scholars have carried out extensive research on this issue, but most of them are based on macro-level research, which can better show the large-scale pattern changes, but the quantitative research on micro-level is rarely reported. The research based on micro-perspective is more convenient to grasp the essence of the development of things and reveal the inherent law of the development of things[2]. In the ecotone of agriculture and animal husbandry, there are significant regional differences in both natural and human aspects. Therefore, in order to fundamentally solve the ecological and economic problems in the region, the micro-quantitative research in different regions must be focued on. Based on the typical mother-son mountain villages in ecological environment, population and economy, the author conducted a field survey in August-September 2016. Combined with the statistical data of township government and village committee and remote sensing image data provided by relevant departments, the author analyzed the dynamic changes of land use in the past 25 years and made use of soil. The dynamic degree model of land use is used to measure the degree of comprehensive land use in order to provide scientific basis for the rationalization of land use and the sustainable development of agriculture and animal husbandry in this area.

Development of advanced web-based SWAT LUC system considering yearly land use changes and recession curve characteristics

Land use change needs to be considered in hydrological modeling because these affect various hydrologic components as well as sediment and water quality in a watershed. It cannot predict the hydrological phenomena accurately without considering the dynamics of land use changes. Most of the hydrological models reflect invariable land use with time. The LUC module that can be used in Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) has been developed to overcome the issue. To help the user to prepare its input files, the SAWT2009_LUC Tool and LUU system had been also developed as the subsidiary tools. Although these tools can consider the temporal and spatial changes of land use, it has several limitations that cannot consider the period between two or more land uses generated at different years when land use and relative parameters are changing. Thus, this study developed the web-based LUC system with two modules which can supplement the limitation of previous module. Based on the results of this study, it was found that the model performance (streamflow prediction) using the newly developed modules showed an improvement compared with the original model performance. Thus, these modules included in the web-based LUC system are useful to consider the dynamics of land use changes spatially and temporarily and appropriate recession curve characteristics at watershed scales.

Land-Use/Land-Cover Change from Socio-Economic Drivers and Their Impact on Biodiversity in Nan Province, Thailand.

The rate of deforestation declined steadily in Thailand since the year 2000 due to economic transformation away from forestry. However, these changes did not occur in Nan Province located in northern Thailand. Deforestation is expected to continue due to high demand for forest products and increased agribusiness. The objectives of this paper are (1) to predict land-use change in the province based on trends, market-based and conservation scenarios, (2) to quantify biodiversity, and (3) to identify biodiversity hotspots at greatest risk for future deforestation. This study used a dynamic land-use change model (Dyna-CLUE) to allocate aggregated land demand for three scenarios and employed FRAGSTATS to determine the spatial pattern of land-use change. In addition, the InVEST Global Biodiversity Assessment Model framework was used to estimate biodiversity expressed as the remaining mean species abundance (MSA) relative to their abundance in the pristine reference condition. Risk of deforestation and the MSA values were combined to determine biodiversity hotspots across the landscape at greatest risk. The results revealed that most of the forest cover in 2030 would remain in the west and east of the province, which are rugged and not easily accessible, as well as in protected areas. MSA values are predicted to decrease from 0.41 in 2009 to 0.29, 0.35, and 0.40, respectively, under the trends, market-based and conservation scenarios in 2030. In addition, the low, medium, and high biodiversity zones cover 46, 49 and 6% of Nan Province. Protected areas substantially contribute to maintaining forest cover and greater biodiversity. Important measures to protect remaining cover and maintain biodiversity include patrolling at-risk deforestation areas, reduction of road expansion in pristine forest areas, and promotion of incentive schemes for farmers to rehabilitate degraded ecosystems.

Representation of fire, land-use change and vegetation dynamics in the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator vn4.9 (JULES)

Abstract. Disturbance of vegetation is a critical component of land cover, but is generally poorly constrained in land surface and carbon cycle models. In particular, land-use change and fire can be treated as large-scale disturbances without full representation of their underlying complexities and interactions. Here we describe developments to the land surface model JULES (Joint UK Land Environment Simulator) to represent land-use change and fire as distinct processes which interact with simulated vegetation dynamics. We couple the fire model INFERNO (INteractive Fire and Emission algoRithm for Natural envirOnments) to dynamic vegetation within JULES and use the HYDE (History Database of the Global Environment) land cover dataset to analyse the impact of land-use change on the simulation of present day vegetation. We evaluate the inclusion of land use and fire disturbance against standard benchmarks. Using the Manhattan metric, results show improved simulation of vegetation cover across all observed datasets. Overall, disturbance improves the simulation of vegetation cover by 35 % compared to vegetation continuous field (VCF) observations from MODIS and 13 % compared to the Climate Change Initiative (CCI) from the ESA. Biases in grass extent are reduced from −66 % to 13 %. Total woody cover improves by 55 % compared to VCF and 20 % compared to CCI from a reduction in forest extent in the tropics, although simulated tree cover is now too sparse in some areas. Explicitly modelling fire and land use generally decreases tree and shrub cover and increases grasses. The results show that the disturbances provide important contributions to the realistic modelling of vegetation on a global scale, although in some areas fire and land use together result in too much disturbance. This work provides a substantial contribution towards representing the full complexity and interactions between land-use change and fire that could be used in Earth system models.

Recent applications of the MODIS sensor for soybean crop monitoring and deforestation detection in Mato Grosso, Brazil.

Abstract The intensive and dynamic land-use and land-cover changes in Mato Grosso, Brazil, and the environmental costs of adopted agricultural practices over the years have attracted the attention of researchers and institutions. In order to evaluate these aspects, moderate resolution remote sensing data and techniques have been applied. Using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor, compatible with the farm size and seasonal dynamic of Mato Grosso agriculture, it is possible to acquire data for a large coverage, repeatedly and freely. In the context of Mato Grosso, which is a large geographical area with dynamic processes operating at multiple scales, this sensor allows vegetation monitoring and seasonal detection of changes in canopy. This review paper presents the use of MODIS sensor data to improve soybean crop detection, yield prediction and deforestation monitoring in Mato Grosso over time. Different data from this sensor were collected over several years, especially vegetation indices, and a large number of methods were developed through the MODIS-derived information. The presented results show how the MODIS sensor was successfully applied to local and regional soybean crop and deforestation monitoring, offering new opportunities for land-cover mapping in Mato Grosso.