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Methodology

 

Other LULC Change in Carroll County areas:

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Chapter 4 - Methodology

Data Acquisition  |  GPS Ground Truth Data Acquisition  |  Image Preprocessing  |  Image Classification  |  Change Detection  |  1984 Land Use & Land Cover Map  |  Data Conversion  |  Land Assessment  |  Hardcopy Map Production

 

This research addresses land use and land cover changes over a 15 year period of study, 1984 to 1999, in rural Carroll County, Arkansas. The dynamics of forest conversion to agricultural pasture and the spatial distribution and patterns are the primary focus of this study. Land use and land cover change is defined as the conversion from one land cover category to another (Riebsame, et al, 1994). This type of phenomena results in a change of reflected electromagnetic radiation (EMR) values representative as a surrogate of the Earth’s surface which can be remotely sensed.

Within the scope of this project, the concept behind the process of mapping land use and land cover change over time begins with mapping the present (1999 satellite imagery), then looking back in time to map the past (1984 satellite imagery) to assess for change detection. Change detection is the process of identifying differences in the state of an object or phenomenon by observing it at different times (Singh, 1989). Moreover, change detectability is a function of the "from" and "to" classes, the spatial extent, and the context of the change (Khorram et al, 1994). Essentially, it involves the ability to quantify temporal effects using multitemporal data sets.

The creation of land use and land cover maps of Carroll County, Arkansas for the years 1984 and 1999 in addition to a land use and land cover change map, 1984 – 1999, were derived from four multi-temporal Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) images with the aid of additional ancillary vector data.

The image processing techniques employed in this study were conducted using PCI ImageWorks Version 6.2 image processing software from PCI Geomatics Ottowa, Canada. PCI is a raster based software with GIS functionality and advanced vector capabilities. All final hardcopy maps were produced in ArcView GIS software, produced by ESRI Corp., Redlands, CA, and portray land use and land cover maps for the years 1999 and 1984, a land use and land cover change map of Carroll County, Arkansas from 1984 to 1999, and a land assessment maps of forest conversion. All the software and hardware required in this study was utilized at The Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies (CAST) at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.

 

Chapter 5 - Results & Analysis