Short URL

Strategies for Further Study

 

Other Summary & Conclusions areas:

Loading, please wait...

Chapter 6 - Summary & Conclusions

A Brief Project Reprise  |  Conclusion from The Analysis  |  Limitations of The Study  |  Strategies for Further Study  |  Land Use & Land Cover Dynamics  |  A Land Ethic

Strategies for Further Study

There are potential possibilities to consider which may warrant additional strategies for further study upon the conclusion of this research. The detection and delineation of forest loss and subsequent conversion to pastures in Carroll County, Arkansas has been determined with satellite imagery. In addition, an assessment of this land use and land cover change has been compiled with GIS analysis. However, the resulting spatial data yielded from this study offers the prospective for further analysis.

For instance, the culmination of the hydrologic watershed boundaries, perennial river and stream data, slope data, and SSURGO soils data layers may provide specific watershed analysis on a finer scale or level of detail where larger forest tracts have been clearcut. In addition, perhaps field checks of improved pastures to confirm the land assessment results may pose a challenge. Or, potential field checks of classified areas of forest regeneration with a GPS might provide additional data to assess for ground truth of changing forest characteristics. However, the desires and rights of private landowners may prohibit the feasibility of such research. The implementation of higher resolution satellite data may also provide an impetus for future study in Carroll County.

As satellite technology continues to advance, satellites with increased resolution characteristics will be utilized in future studies. Presently, commercialized satellite corporations such as the Ikonos Satellite system offer satellite imagery characterized by 1 meter panchromatic and 4 meter, multispectral, spatial resolution. In addition, hyperspectral sensors characterized by very large spectral ranges will also improve future mapping projects on smaller scales. However, the high cost and tremendous data storage requirements currently limit the use of such data for larger scale mapping projects. Nonetheless, future utilization of such satellite imagery will allow for finer levels of detail for more accurate classifications and analysis of more subtle changes in land use and land cover.