The integration of spectral, textural, and topographic information using a random forest classifier for land-cover mapping in the rugged Nujiang Grand Canyon was investigated in this study. Only a few land-cover categories were accurately discriminated using spectral information exclusively, with an overall accuracy of 0.56 and a kappa coefficient of 0.51.

Recent progress in very high spatial resolution imagery (VHSRI) has increased the availability of fine‐scale land cover data over extensive areas. This new spatial information might improve our understanding of how land cover affects stream ecosystems. Land cover information was investigated in whole catchments and riparian areas in Normandy (France) and related to stream macroinvertebrates at 155 sites. The first model was based on the land cover data obtained via moderate spatial resolution imagery (MSRI) at the catchment scale.

Examination of the diurnal variations in surface urban heat islands (UHIs) has been hindered by incompatible spatial and temporal resolutions of satellite data. In this study, a diurnal temperature cycle genetic algorithm (DTC-GA) approach was used to generate the hourly 1 km land-surface temperature (LST) by integrating multi-source satellite data. Diurnal variations of the UHI in ‘ideal’ weather conditions in the city of Beijing were examined. Results show that the DTC-GA approach was applicable for generating the hourly 1 km LSTs.

Although there has been considerable interest in the rejuvenation and greening of inner-city schoolyards for several decades, recent studies on the behavioral and environmental impacts of greenspace, particularly tree cover, suggest that greenspace on schools may be more important than previously understood. However, little is known about the conditions and landcover of urban schoolyards. To understand the structure of the landcover on city schoolyards, this study used Geographic Information System software to classify and compare landcover on 258 U.S.

1. The restoration of native, forested riparian habitats is a widely accepted method for improving degraded streams. Little is known, however, about how the width, extent and continuity of forested vegetation along stream networks affect stream ecosystems. 2. To increase the likelihood of achieving restoration goals, restoration practitioners require quantitative tools to guide the development of restoration strategies in different catchment settings.

Historical land-cover changes in three delta regions in Southeast Asia are assessed by using selected Landsat images from 1990 to 2005. Potential inundation areas of the delta regions for different return periods are estimated by using digital elevation model data and extreme-value distribution of annual maximum river discharges. The results indicate significant changes of natural land cover within the potential inundation areas due to agricultural exploitation and industrialization. Implications for flood-mitigation policies are discussed.

Protected Areas (PAs) form a core component of efforts to conserve biodiversity, but are designated for a variety of reasons. We assessed the effectiveness of PAs in covering the ranges of 157 globally threatened terrestrial bird species in mainland Africa and Madagascar. To reduce commission errors, rather than using Extent of Occurrence (EOO) as a measure of distribution, we estimated the Extent of potentially Suitable Habitat (ESH) for each species within its EOO, using data on habitat preferences and land cover.

Urban areas are the most dynamic region on earth. Their size has been constantly increased during the past and this process will go on in the future. Since there is no standard policy and guidelines for construction of buildings and urban planning, cities tend to have irregular growth. Many cities in the world face the problem of urban sprawl in its suburbs. So issues of urban sprawl need to be settled with the help of technologies such as satellite remote sensing and automated change detection.

Landscape fragmentation is important in investigating changing biodiversity patterns. Several current software programs calculate landscape fragmentation metrics. The most prevalent of these programs are only compatible with raster-format land cover maps. However, with advancing classification techniques, vector-format maps are becoming more popular. The new program PolyFrag computes fragmentation metrics for vector-based maps, is flexible and comprehensive, and outputs metrics similar to those of the widely used raster-based programs, like FRAGSTATS.

With the development of ecological science, the demand to integrate ecosystem services into ecological management is increasing. Stakeholders are interested in comparing stocks and ability to supply ecosystem services in different regions. However, different areas may have different primary ecosystem services and knowledge of the aggregated value of ecosystem services may be lacking, making comparisons difficult. Relevant indicators that can integrate a group of ecosystem services for comparison are therefore needed.

This study examined analyst variation associated with land cover (LC) image classification using 30 × 30 m Landsat ETM+ data for the assessment of coarse spatial resolution regional/global LC products. The study was designed to test the effect of varying training site selections (location and number) among six analysts performing a supervised classification on a Landsat ETM + image. Design constraints maintained other aspects of the classification process constant (i.e., type of classifier, choice of band combinations, etc.).

This paper aimed to analyze short-term changes in landscape pattern that primarily results from building development in the east coast of Mersin Province (Turkey). Three sites were selected. Ikonos (2003) and Quickbird (2009) images for these sites were classified, and land cover transformations were quantitatively analyzed using cross-tabulation of classification results. Changes in landscape structure were assessed by comparing the calculated values of area/edge and shape metrics for the earlier and later dates.