Land Resource Management Research Articles

Potential risk of soil erosion on the Tibetan Plateau during 1990–2020: Impact of climate change and human activities

With global warming and increasing anthropogenic activities, the ecosystems on the Tibetan Plateau are becoming increasingly fragile, exacerbating the risk of soil erosion in the area. However, the interacting effects induced by numerous erosion processes occurring at different times and spaces on the Tibetan Plateau are challenging to quantify using the conventional single-process assessment models (e.g., water erosion, wind erosion, and freeze–thaw). Consequently, our understanding of the complicated state of the plateau with respect to the potential for soil erosion is limited. Therefore, we created a methodological framework using multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) to evaluate the potential risk of various soil erosion processes driven by climate change and human activity under current soil and topographical circumstances in this region. The results showed that the assessment model was reliable, and the estimated accuracy using the receiver operating characteristic curve for the training and validation datasets was 0.721. The majority of the areas of the plateau (60.69%) were at very-low or low-risk levels, while 17.55% of the plateau (mainly in the southeast and along the surrounding high mountains) was at high risk. In general, the average potential risk of soil erosion significantly increased during 1990–2020, and climate change exerted more pressure on the land surface than human activities did. The potential risk increased dramatically in 28.15% of the total plateau area, and was found to be concentrated in the plateau’s southern, eastern, central, and northern regions. The findings of this study provide a basis for local ecological environmental protection and land resource management on the Tibetan Plateau and propose a new protocol to forecast and prevent soil erosion worldwide.

APPLICATION OF THE LATEST INFORMATION AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES IN THE MANAGEMENT OF LAND RESOURCES OF AGRICULTURAL ENTERPRISES

Introduction. Land resources as an object of management are traditionally considered in connection with land relations that determine the content of systems of interactions of economic agents that arise in the process of ownership, management and use of land – an important factor of production and the spatial basis of human life. The structural and functional complexity of the management system is due to its multi-level nature, a wide range of general and specific management functions that are implemented, the heterogeneity of subjects of land relations, and the diversity of their economic interests. Methods. General scientific and special methods were used in the work in order to achieve the goal: the dialectical method of scientific knowledge – to consider the essence of the latest information and digital technologies in the management of land resources; synthesis – to clarify the interrelationships between subjects of land relations in the conditions of digitalization; graphic – for visual display of the obtained results; abstract and logical method – for forming research conclusions and proposals. Results. The meaning and role of land resources is revealed, various approaches to determining their economic essence in the conditions of the use of information and digital technologies in land resource management are considered. The main directions of digitalization of land resource management of agricultural enterprises are highlighted. Discussion. The obtained results of the research can be used for the implementation of the latest information and digital technologies in the practice of land resource management. This will enable agricultural commodity producers to analyse large volumes of data, control the state of land resources and the rationality of their use at different levels of management, which will contribute to the transparency of the functioning of the agricultural land market. In the future, the use of digital land management systems will make it possible to: create an informational computer system for assessing the quality and location of agricultural land plots based on their inventory, assessment of productive and territorial features; to complete the formation of the introduction of free circulation of agricultural land and the improvement of land legal relations, which will contribute to attracting additional credit resources to agribusiness against the pledge of land and improving the efficiency of the industry. Keywords: digitization, information technologies, land resources, land market, precision agriculture, geoinformation system.

Оценка геоэкологических факторов и условий, влияющих на устойчивость аграрного землепользования в лесостепной зоне Алтайского Края

The purpose of the study: analysis of geoecological factors and conditions affecting the sustainability of agricultural land use in the forest-steppe zone of the Altai Krai and its assessment. Research methods: System analysis (landscape analysis) was used in the study of geoecological factors and conditions affecting the landscapes of the study area. The methodological basis of the study was the work of Russian and foreign scientists who at different times studied the problems of climate, soil formation, sustainable development and food security. Monographic, statistical, cartographic methods, methods of GIS technologies and modeling were used in the analysis of areas and land types of the object under study. Research results. The author's approach presented in the paper allows at the local level (land use of an agricultural organization or municipal district) to assess the impact of geoecological factors and conditions on the sustainability of an agricultural territory. On the example of a typical territory for the agrarian regions of the south of Western Siberia and Northern Kazakhstan with an area of about 3000 km2, located in the forest-steppe zone of the Altai Krai, an assessment was made of physiographic, climatic, geomorphological, soil conditions, natural and anthropogenic factors. 11 assessment indicators were identified, which clearly showed the limiting impacts on agricultural landscapes, manifested in the territory in the form of erosion processes that reduce the efficiency of agricultural production. The established regularities of the influence of geoecological conditions and factors make it possible to differentiate the development of a complex of agro-, phytoforestry and reclamation measures aimed at achieving the ecological and economic balance of the territory and, as a result, increase the stability of agrolandscapes at the local level. Conclusions. 1. An algorithm for assessing geoecological conditions and factors at the local level of organization of agricultural land use has been determined to analyze its sustainability. 2. The assessment of the agrarian territory revealed the limiting impacts on the relief, geological structure of the area, soil condition, microclimate of the natural environment, structure, quality of land and other conditions and factors. Limiting impacts on agricultural land use are expressed in the manifestation of erosion processes, high land intensity and low environmental sustainability of the territory, which affects the efficiency of land use. 3. The results of scientific research can be used in the management of land resources at the level of a municipal district and an agricultural organization.

Анализ устойчивости агроландшафтов в лесостепной зоне Красноярского края и мероприятия по их охране

The purpose of the study. On the basis of an assessment of the conditions and factors affecting the agro landscapes of an agricultural organization, design a set of protective measures aimed at increasing their sustainability. Research methods. The methodological basis was the systematic approach and its variety in the study of landscapes – landscape analysis. The methodological base should include the works of domestic and foreign scientists aimed at solving the problem of conservation of land resources and their protection. Statistical processing of analytical materials was carried out using dispersion and cluster analyses. The cartographic method and methods of GIS technologies were also used in the analysis of areas and modeling of processes. Research results. An agro-ecological assessment of the territory of agricultural land use, with an area of more than 16 thousand hectares, located in the forest-steppe of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, was made. It has been established that the territory is typical and the results obtained can be used in the analysis of sustainability and the development of measures for the protection of agricultural land uses operating in similar natural and climatic conditions in the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan. Landscape areas are defined on the map-scheme, conditions and factors influencing the stability of agrolandscapes are described. It has been established that the main limiting factor influencing the stability of the territory is deflation, which manifests itself differently within landscape areas. A scientifically based complex of protective agro-, phyto-, forest reclamation measures has been developed, corresponding to the allocated land categories in the landscape-agro-ecological zoning scheme, aimed at increasing the efficiency and sustainability of agricultural land use. Conclusion. 1. An assessment of the sustainability of landscape areas (agrolandscapes) of an agricultural organization has been made. 2. Unique schematic map of landscape areas, steepness of slopes, erosion hazard of the territory, landscape-erosion zoning, and studied agricultural land use were compiled, the ecological state of the territory was determined. 3. A complex of agro-, phyto-, forest reclamation measures is presented, differentiated according to landscape areas for deflation-hazardous land categories in the landscape-agro-ecological zoning scheme, aimed at their protection and increasing the sustainability of the agricultural land use area. 4. The results of scientific research can be applied by agricultural producers, research institutions, regional and municipal authorities in the organization, planning, monitoring, evaluation and management of land resources in the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan.

JOINING THE GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM OF SOIL RESOURCES (SIGSTAR-200) WITH SOIL PROFILES INFORMATION FROM THE NATIONAL NETWORK FOR SOIL QUALITY MONITORING 8 KM X 8 KM

The rational and efficient management of land resources, in the frame of a sustainable agriculture and environment protection, have to be based on the operational, and at the same time, more detailed and accurate knowledge of soil resources. This knowledge is based on soil information obtained by carrying out soil surveys and field research, and by laboratory measurements of main soil physical and chemical parameters. Thus, the basic soil information, consisting primarily of data on soil profiles representative of the study areas is obtained. The objective of this paper is to develop several applications for coupling georeferenced data from Geographic Information System of Soil Resources SIGSTAR-200 with the information of soil profiles from the Soil Quality Monitoring Network 8 km x 8 km. The spatial distribution of existing soil profiles, as well as the distribution of soil types have been studied, and their representativeness is determined. IT applications have been developed to highlight the number of profiles consistent with the polygons containing them, or with the neighbouring polygons. The soil areas that are described by a profile from the soil profiles database (having a profile which is located inside the polygon) are also established.

Research and Development of a Land Resource Management Information System Based on Multi-Dimensional Information Fusion

Research and Development of a Land Resource Management Information System Based on Multi-Dimensional Information Fusion

Harmonizing Population, Grain, and Land: Unlocking Sustainable Land Resource Management in the Farming–Pastoral Ecotone

As an important means of production and habitation, land is the core natural resource for people’s life and production. However, the escalating demand for land resources, along with population growth, has created a pressing challenge at the intersection of land, population, and grain. In this study, we used a combination of temporal and spatial perspectives, along with spatial analysis methods, to analyze the supply and demand of land resources in the Northeast Farming–Pastoral Ecotone (NFPE) based on the population–grain relationship. The results show that the carrying capacity of land resources in this region increased gradually and the number of people it can carry increased from 34.23 million (2000) to 127.96 million (2018). From 2000 to 2018, the land resource carrying index (LRCI) was greater than 1.125, showing a state of surplus in grain, and the LRCI increased by 0.23 per year. Most areas in this region are in a state of grain surplus, with 13 counties showing a population and grain balance, and 2 counties being overpopulated. However, the increasing trend of land resource carrying capacity of the overpopulated areas and the balanced population–grain areas are notable. The carrying capacity of land resources in the NFPE generally exhibits a positive trend with a surplus of grain; however, there are spatial variations. Areas in the south and northeast demonstrate lower change trends, while the north and southeast exhibit higher change trends. This research provides critical insights into the dynamic interplay between land, population, and grain, enabling informed decision making for sustainable development in the NFPE and offering valuable lessons for similar regions globally.

The LAND RESOURCES MANAGEMENT ACCORDING TO AGRARIAN LAND ZONING

Management of land resources as a state system of measures is aimed at providing the population with food and other branches of the national economy with raw materials at the optimal level of capital investments in resources and their maximum return under the conditions of compliance with environmental goals and programs to ensure the norms and requirements of the rational use of land by agricultural enterprises with the aim of obtaining an ecologically clean plant and animal products while preserving natural resources. It is proposed to manage land resources of agricultural enterprises based on indicators of agricultural zoning, which provides information on zoned crops and types of crop rotation that are most suitable for growing on the territory of a specific agricultural enterprise, the implementation of technological measures for the use and protection of land, the level of influence of these measures on productivity and efficiency land use by an agricultural enterprise.

Global analysis of land-use changes in karst areas and the implications for water resources

Karst areas contain valuable groundwater resources and high biodiversity, but are particularly vulnerable to climate change and human impacts. Land-use change is the cause and consequence of global environmental change. The releases of the Climate Change Initiative-Land Cover (CCI-LC) and World Karst Aquifer Map (WOKAM) datasets have made it possible to explore global land-use changes in karst areas. This paper firstly analyses the global karst land-use distribution in 2020, as well as the land-use transition characteristics between 1992 and 2020. Then, two indicators, proportion of land-use change and dominant type of land-use change, are proposed to identify the spatial characteristics of land-use change in global karst areas. Finally, three examples of land-use change in karst areas are analyzed in detail. Land-use types and proportions of the global karst areas from large to small are as follows: forest (31.78%), bare area (27.58%), cropland (19.02%), grassland (10.87%), shrubland (7.21%), wetland (1.67%), ice and snow (1.16%) and urban (0.71%). The total area of global karst land-use change is 1.30 million km2, about 4.85% of global karst surface. The land-use change trend of global karst is dominated by afforestation, supplemented by scattered urbanization and agricultural reclamation. The tropical climate has a higher intensity of land-use change. Regions of agricultural reclamation are highly consistent with the population density. These results reflect the impact of human activities and climate change on land-use changes in global karst areas, and serve as a basis for further research and planning of land resource management.

Spatiotemporal change and prediction of land use in Manasi region based on deep learning

The Manasi region is located in an arid and semi-arid region with fragile ecology and scarce resources. The land use change prediction is important for the management and optimization of land resources. We utilized Sankey diagram, dynamic degree of land use, and landscape indices to explore the temporal and spatial variation of land use and integrated the LSTM and MLP algorithms to predict land use prediction. The MLP-LSTM prediction model retains the spatiotemporal information of land use data to the greatest extent and extracts the spatiotemporal variation characteristics of each grid through a training set. Results showed that (1) from 1990 to 2020, cropland, tree cover, water bodies, and urban areas in the Manasi region increased by 855.3465 km2, 271.7136 km2, 40.0104 km2, and 109.2483 km2, respectively, whereas grassland and bare land decreased by 677.7243 km2 and 598.5945 km2, respectively; (2) Kappa coefficients reflect the accuracy of the mode’s predictions in terms of quantity. The Kappa coefficients of the land use data predicted by the MLP-LSTM, MLP-ANN, LR, and CA-Markov models were calculated to be 95.58%, 93.36%, 89.48%, and 85.35%, respectively. It can be found that the MLP-LSTM and MLP-ANN models obtain higher accuracy in most levels, while the CA–Markov model has the lowest accuracy. (3) The landscape indices can reflect the spatial configuration characteristics of landscape (land use types), and evaluating the prediction results of land use models using landscape indices can reflect the prediction accuracy of the models in terms of spatial features. The results indicate that the model predicted by MLP-LSTM model conforms to the development trend of land use from 1990 to 2020 in terms of spatial features. This gives a basis for the study of the Manasi region to formulate relevant land use development and rationally allocate land resources.

Environmental impacts of renting rangelands: integrating remote sensing and household surveys at the parcel level

Land rental markets are growing worldwide and facilitate efficient utilization of land. However, the short duration of occupancy and limited property rights mean that rental contracts may discourage longer-term sustainable land management. Direct investigation into the relationship between land tenure and ecological outcomes has been hampered by scale-appropriate data on land tenure, resource management, and land outcomes. In this paper, we address these issues with a study design that combines participatory mapping, household surveys, and remote sensing. We analyzed these data in a multilevel statistical model, controlling for environmental and land management influences. Our results show that rented land parcels are associated with worse rangeland outcomes compared to privately held parcels. This study contributes to the literature by documenting important empirical effects of rental markets and presenting a replicable workflow for integrating earth observations and micro-level survey data, which can be adopted by researchers and practitioners in regions where land registry data is unavailable or inaccessible. The results have important implications for incentive and compensatory-based environmental policy.

CONCEPTUAL PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF LAND RESOURCES IN UNITED TERRITORIAL COMMUNITIES

Goal. The purpose of the research is the conceptual principles of effective management of land resources in united territorial communities (UTC). Method. To achieve the set goal, a number of general scientific and special methods of scientific knowledge were used: the dialectical method of knowledge of economic phenomena and processes (when determining the subject, object, subjects, purpose, goals and tasks of land resource management in UTC), monographic (when studying the essence of the concept of "effective management of land resources"), graphic (when presenting the concept of forming a system of effective management of land resources of a united territorial community), abstract and logical (for theoretical generalizations, formulation of conclusions and development of proposals in the field of land resources management ). The results. As a result of the study, the subject, object, subjects, purpose and tasks of effective management of land resources in united territorial communities were determined, and it was also proposed to interpret the concept of "effective management of land resources of the UTC " as a process of forming such a management system that would provided a steadily growing positive economic effect from the use of the lands of the UTC with simultaneous observance of ecological and other nature protection norms, provided that the costs for the formation of such a management apparatus are optimal and adequate to the obtained economic, ecological and social effect. The goal of land resource management at the level of the UTC is to create and ensure the effective functioning of the system of land relations and land use of the territorial community, which allows to best satisfy the needs of the entire population of the UTC, related to the use of the lands of the UTC. The concept of forming a system of effective management of land resources in UTC is proposed, which will allow to raise the level of management in UTC, will ensure obtaining a greater economic, social and ecological effect for citizens of UTC from the use of available land resources, in particular agricultural land. The practical significance of the obtained results lies in the definition of the concept of "effective management of land resources", its subject, object, goal and tasks, as well as in the development of the concept of effective management of land resources in the UTC

Geoprzestrzenne cechy układu historycznego i geograficznego oraz stan obecny masywów leśnych leśnictwa Busk (Ukraina)

The purpose of this article is to investigate the species composition, age structure, and economic utilization of forest plantations in the Busk forestry. The practical importance of such research increases in the context of administrative reform and land resource management in newly created communities and announced consolidations of forestry enterprises in 2021. The research used various time-based cartographic materials, which allowed to trace the development of typical forest massifs from the end of the 18th century to the present day. The study was conducted for four time periods. The proposed study was carried out by processing statistical materials of the Busk forestry. Based on this data, cartographic schemes of species composition, age structure, and timber stock were constructed and analyzed by forestry. It was established that the characteristic features of forestry in the region are: uneven forest cover of the studied territory; significant fragmentation of the forest fund in the southern part of the forestry territory; location of large forest massifs in the northwestern part of the forestry; dominance of such tree species as pine, oak, and alder in the forest stands; insignificant increase in forest cover in individual territories due to the creation of pine tree cultures on unproductive lands and active expansion of black alder forests in over-moistened pastures. The division of the forest fund into categories has been studied. It has been established that the largest share of the forest fund of the Busk forestry is occupied by exploitable forests. Protective forests account for 1.5% of the total forest area in the studied region. The forest supply per capita in the Krasne territorial community is on average 0.12 ha/person, while in Busk it is 0.61 ha/person.

Pb and O isotopic characteristics of single minerals in the Jianggang radial sand ridges of the southwestern Yellow Sea: Implications for provenance and pathways of silt-size sediments

Understanding the sediment provenance of the Jianggang radial sand ridges (RSRs) along the Jiangsu coast in the southwestern Yellow Sea is crucial for sustainable coastal development and land resource management. In this study, the provenance and transport patterns of silt-size sediments in the Jianggang RSRs were explored using Quartz oxygen (O) and K-feldspar lead (Pb) isotopic compositions and their large ion lithophile elements (LILEs) concentrations. The Pb-O isotopic compositions and concentrations of most LILEs in RSRs sediments were between those of the Yangtze River Mouth (YTZ), Old Yellow River Delta (OYR), and Modern Yellow River Mouth (MYR). The Pb-O isotopic compositions and typical elemental ratios were similar between the onshore and northwest offshore RSRs sediments, implying shoreward transport of offshore silt-size sediments. Through multidimensional scaling and graphic methods, it was found that the sediments of onshore and offshore RSRs originate mainly from the YTZ and OYR. Furthermore, the MixSIAR model showed that the contributions of the YTZ to onshore and offshore RSRs reached 33 ± 4 % and 36 ± 3 %, respectively. Followed by the OYR with contributions of 36 ± 3 % and 25 ± 8 %, respectively, and the contributions of the MYR and Korean Peninsula were <21 % and 8 %, respectively. Meanwhile, contributions from the Northern Chinese Deserts (approximately 10 %) deserved attention. Through the distribution of indicators, the transport patterns of silt-size sediments were proposed and compared with those of other fractions for the first time. According to the correlation analysis, the change in the area of central Jiangsu coast was mostly affected by terrestrial river supply and coastal mariculture. Therefore, it was necessary to control the scale of river reservoir construction and strengthen mariculture for sustainable land development and management. In future, comprehensive interdisciplinary and large temporal–spatial scales are suggested to further understand the coastal development.

Distorted Aerial Images Semantic Segmentation Method for Software-Based Analog Image Receivers Using Deep Combined Learning

Aerial images are important for monitoring land cover and land resource management. An aerial imaging source which keeps its position at a higher altitude, and which has a considerable duration of airtime, employs wireless communications for sending images to relevant receivers. An aerial image must be transmitted from the image source to a ground station where it can be stored and analyzed. Due to transmission errors, aerial images which are received from an image transmitter contain distortions which can affect the quality of the images, causing noise, color shifts, and other issues that can impact the accuracy of semantic segmentation and the usefulness of the information contained in the images. Current semantic segmentation methods discard distorted images, which makes the available dataset small or treats them as normal images, which causes poor segmentation results. This paper proposes a deep-learning-based semantic segmentation method for distorted aerial images. For different receivers, distortions occur differently, and by considering the receiver specificness of the distortions, the proposed method was able to grasp the acceptability for a distorted image using semantic segmentation models trained with large aerial image datasets to build a combined model that can effectively segment a distorted aerial image which was received by an analog image receiver. Two combined deep learning models, an approximating model, and a segmentation model were trained combinedly to maximize the segmentation score for distorted images. The results showed that the combined learning method achieves higher intersection-over-union (IoU) scores than the results obtained by using only a segmentation model.

Land resource management and sustainable development: Evidence from China's regional data

Land resource intensive use (LRIU) is the future direction of land natural resource management with significant implications for sustainable development. Henceforth, this study examines the impact mechanism of land natural resource use on sustainable development using China's provincial data from 2008 to 2020. The results reveal that LRIU promotes sustainable development in both quantitative and qualitative terms, and these effects remain valid after robustness and endogeneity tests. However, these influences substantially vary across geographic locations and development stages. LRIU mainly achieves sustainable development by curbing the inflated industrial restructuring and driving technological progress. These findings suggest that LRIU policy should be decisively implemented according to site-specific conditions, giving full play to its impact on industrial restructuring and technological progress.

Land Use Optimization Embedding in Ecological Suitability in the Embryonic Urban Agglomeration

Healthy and sustainable urban agglomerations development relies heavily on land use optimization. However, there is insufficient scientific basis and reliable quantitative analysis for land use pattern identification and optimal prediction in embryonic urban agglomeration. Therefore, taking the Lanzhou–Xining (LX) region, a typical primary developing urban agglomeration, as the study area, we first assessed the land ecological suitability (LES). Then, we embedded the LES evaluation results in the land optimization process and constructed the MCR-MOP- Dyna-CLUE model framework, simulating and optimizing land use patterns for the year 2035 under ecological optimization and business as usual scenarios, which aimed to explore a sustainable land use pattern for embryonic urban agglomerations. The results indicated that the ecological optimization scenario based on LES had a more rational land use pattern. It appropriately controlled the expansion rate of construction land and effectively alleviated the problems of construction land encroaching on farming land and ecological land. Meanwhile, the ecosystem services increased in value based on adequately addressing the need for food security and economic development. Compared to the business as usual scenario, the construction land under the ecological optimization scenario was 19,622.69 ha less, and the cultivated land was 32,103.29 ha more. Moreover, the ecological benefit and the economic benefit increased by 187,490.4595 million yuan and 151,808,605.1 million yuan from 2020 to 2035, respectively, under the ecological optimization scenario. Our research is of great value for making decisions on sustainable land use and land resource management in initial developing agglomerations.

Exploring the emergence and changing dynamics of a new integrated rice-crawfish farming system in China

Crop-aquaculture systems are widely adopted around the world as they can provide high protein and energy outputs per unit of land and raise farm incomes, particularly for smallholder farmers. Recently, a new crop-aquaculture system, which combines rice production with crawfish breeding (integrated rice-crawfish farming), has emerged and rapidly expanded in China. However, the spatial extent and temporal dynamics of this integrated farming system largely remain unclear, which prohibits rigorous impact assessments to support its sustainable development. Here we use time series of Landsat satellite data, for the first time, to explore the emergence and the changing dynamics of this rice-crawfish farming system for the period of 2013–2021 in five provinces (805 600 km2) of China, where 90% of the global crawfish are produced. Our analysis reveals that the total area of rice-crawfish farming in these five provinces increased steadily from 0.11 Mha in 2013 to 0.70 Mha in 2019, then sharply contracted by a third in 2020 and rebounded in 2021. Spatially, rice-crawfish system is located primarily in low-elevation plain areas with abundant water resources, where paddy rice cultivation has traditionally dominated agriculture. More concentrated rice-crawfish distribution is observed in Jianghan Plain, and regions around Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake. The spatial distribution of rice-crawfish cultivation experienced considerable expansion towards the east and north from 2013 to 2021, with the largest expansion found in Jiangsu and Anhui after 2018. At the county level, over 6% of counties experienced notable area increases of more than 60 km2 from 2017 and 2019, but 20% of counties have decreased from 2019 to 2021. Among the converted land use types, irrigated cropland is the largest contributor to rice-crawfish expansion with a contribution of 56%, followed by water bodies (25%) and rainfed cropland (13%). The spatial and temporal information provided in this study helps to understand the evolution of rice-crawfish cultivation in China and facilitates more efficient management of land resources under the rapid development of this farming system.

The Effectiveness of Remote Sensing Techniques for Land use Classification in Kota Belud, Sabah

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of remote sensing techniques in classifying land use types in Kota Belud, Sabah. Two classification techniques, unsupervised and supervised, were employed to ensure high accuracy of the land use data. Six land use types were classified, including paddy fields, bare land, water bodies, forest, urban areas, and oil palm plantations. This study found that the accuracy of land use classification for the years 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020 was 94%, 86%, 98.30%, and 91.60%, respectively. These results suggest that the supervised classification method was more effective in accurately classifying land use types compared to the unsupervised classification method. The final maps generated by both classification methods showed significant changes in land use over time. For instance, the expansion of paddy fields was observed in the study area, particularly from 1990 to 2020. The conversion of forest areas and bare land to paddy cultivation was in line with the National Agro-Food Policy 2021-2030, which aims to make Kota Belud a paddy granary. Overall, the study highlights the importance of remote sensing techniques in monitoring land use changes. The results provide valuable insights for policymakers and land use planners in making informed decisions to manage land resources sustainably.

Cross-scale Graph Interaction Network for Semantic Segmentation of Remote Sensing Images

Semantic segmentation of remote sensing (RS) images plays a vital role in a variety of fields, including urban planning, natural disaster monitoring, and land resource management. Due to the complexity and low resolution of RS images, many approaches have been proposed to handle the related task. However, these previously developed approaches dedicate to contextual interaction but ignore the cross-scale semantic correlation and multi-scale boundary information. Therefore, we propose a Cross-scale Graph Interaction Network (CGIN) to address semantic segmentation problems of RS images, which consists of a semantic branch and a boundary branch. In the semantic branch, we first apply atrous convolution to extract multi-scale semantic features of RS images. Particularly, based on the multi-scale semantic features, a Cross-scale Graph Interaction (CGI) module is introduced, which establishes cross-scale graph structures and performs adaptive graph reasoning to capture the cross-scale semantic correlation of RS objects. In the boundary branch, we propose a Multi-scale Boundary Feature Extraction (MBFE) module that utilizes atrous convolutions with different dilation rates to extract multi-scale boundary features. Finally, to address the problem of sparse boundary pixels in the fusion process of the two branches, we propose a Multi-scale Similarity-guided Aggregation (MSA) module by calculating the similarity of semantic features and boundary features at the corresponding scale, which can emphasize the boundary information in semantic features. Our proposed CGIN outperforms state-of-the-art approaches in numerical experiments conducted on two benchmark remote sensing datasets.