THE BIG PICTURE

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THE BIG PICTURE

• Mapping and monitoring the surface of Earth is
  critical to our wise use and protection of it.
• remote sensing can help
• can cover large areas
• revisit often
• we must have ground reference data to verify what
  we see from satellites and create land cover maps
• How good are the maps we make from satellite
  imagery?
• accuracy assessment!

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WHY INVESTIGATE LAND COVER?

• It effects
• what animals live in a certain place
• weather
• soil properties
• water chemistry
• flow of energy, water and chemicals
• Can indicate climate
• Create and validate land cover maps

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WHY INVESTIGATE LAND COVER?

• Maps are used to monitor
• endangered plants, animals and habitats
• economic development
• land use
• fire fuel management
• cropland management
• wetland loss
• effects of environmental change in ecosystems
• other changes in land cover over time

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WHY INVESTIGATE LAND COVER?

• Biometry data
• assist monitoring the amount of nutrients, water
  and gases in vegetation
• understand Earth Systems
• nutrient cycles
• energy cycle
• hydrological cycle

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WHY INVESTIGATE LAND COVER?

• No other group in the world is collecting a
  uniform data set such as this. Therefore, GLOBE
  schools are providing unique, valuable
  information that will help scientists to better
  understand Earth.

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REMOTE SENSING

• Definition learning something about an object
  without making direct contact
• Digital images
• pixel size spatial resolution
• size of the smallest object or area that can be
  distinguished from its surroundings
• spectral resolution wavelengths
• LandSat 7 30m x 30m blue, green, red, near
  infrared (IR) and two mid-IR, 60m x 60m thermal
  IR, 15m x 15m panchromatic

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REMOTE SENSING

• Watch GLOBE
• Remote Sensing Video
• now!
• Follow up with Remote Sensing Presentation

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MUC SYSTEM

• Modified UNESCO Classification System
• UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific
  and Cultural Organization
• classify land cover worldwide
• 10 Level 1 classes 8 natural and 2 developed
• Four levels in hierarchy
• over 160 total classes
• Classification systems
• labels and definitions/rules
• hierarchical
• totally exhaustive
• mutually exclusive

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MUC SYSTEM

• Labels and definitions/rules
• labels names given to groups
• rules specific instructions for assigning an
  item to a group
• Hierarchical
• layered with each layer being more specific
  than the previous one
• Totally exhaustive
• one class for every item
• Mutually exclusive
• any item fits into one and only one class

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MUC SYSTEM
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MUC SYSTEM
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MUC SYSTEM
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MUC SYSTEM
In order to simplify the MUC System Table and MUC
Glossary of Terms or the MUC Field Guide for
students, some teachers have modified them by
eliminating some of the highly unlikely choices,
i.e. glaciers and salt water in a land-locked
desert community, xeromorphic (extremely dry)
forests in a very humid environment, etc.
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MUC SYSTEM PRACTICE

• About 80 of the site is
• covered by graminoid
• (grass) and forb
• (broad-leaved)
• vegetation about 1
• meter tall. It is 75
• graminoid and 25
• forb mix. Broadleaved
• deciduous trees cover
• about 15-20 of the
• site.

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MUC SYSTEM PRACTICE

• You calculate a canopy
• cover of 70 and note
• that the crowns of trees
• are not touching each
• other. The site is 80
• deciduous. There are
• not many climbers or
• epiphytes in this area
• and there are
• evergreens. There is a
• winter frost in the
• unfavorable season.
• The evergreen trees have
• needle leaves.

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MUC SYSTEM PRACTICE

• You live in a lowland
• temperate region. Your
• land cover site is mostly
• trees with the crowns
• touching each other,
• but about 20 of the
• ground area has houses
• on it. After measuring,
• the canopy is 60
• hemisclerophyllous
• evergreen and 40
• deciduous mix.

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MUC SYSTEM PRACTICE

• After you perform your
• canopy and ground cover
• measurements, you
• calculate that the canopy
• cover is 20 and composed
• of a single species of pine
• tree (needle-leaved). Your
• ground cover is 90
• herbaceous vegetation. It
• is composed of 85
• graminoid and 15 forb.
• Most of the graminoid
• vegetation is over 3 meters
• tall.

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MEASUREMENT LOGISTICS

• Collect sample sites within the 15km x 15km Study
  Site
• Biometry measurements to support MUC choices
• Create land cover map of 15 km x 15km Study Site
• Assess accuracy of map, refine map
• Compare change over time between two images,
  several years apart

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WHEN TO MEASURE?

• Sample Sites and Biometry
• if once, during the peak of the growing season
• if you will visit a site repeatedly
• once every year at the same time of year
• twice a year or more, once during the peak of the
  growing season and once during minimum growth
  (winter)
• depending on your research
• Mapping protocols
• any time of year

or
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LAND COVER FLOW CHART
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LAND COVER FLOW CHART