D
etection of
N
orth
A
merican
L
and
C
over
C
hange
B
etween
2005
and
2010
with
250
m
MODIS D
ata
By René R Colditz, Darren Pouliot, Ricardo M. Llamas, Collin Homer, Rasim Latifovic, Rainer
A. Ressl, Carmen Meneses Tovar, Arturo Victoria Hernández, and Karen Richardson
L
I
ntroduction
Land cover and land cover change data are needed for
climate change, biodiversity and ecosystem studies.
Consistent multi-temporal mapping and monitoring
of land cover change over large regions remains to
be a challenging task in remote sensing science. The
North American Land Change Monitoring System
(NALCMS) is a collaborative effort among governmental
institutions of Canada, the United States and Mexico
to monitor the state of land cover across the North
American continent. The initiative is facilitated by the
Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), an
international organization created by the ministries of
environment of Canada, Mexico, and the United States
to promote environmental collaboration among the three
countries. Participating institutions in NALCMS are
Natural Resources Canada / Canada Centre for Remote
Sensing (NRCan / CCRS), the United States Geological
Survey (USGS), and for Mexico the National Institute
for Statistics and Geography (INEGI), the National
Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity
(CONABIO), and the National Forestry Commission
(CONAFOR). A 2005 land cover map of North America
with 19 classes was derived from 250m Moderate Resolution
Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image composites and
published in 2010 (Latifovic et al. 2012). Generating maps
at the continental scale rather than using global products
ensures the best-available, consistently-produced map for this
geographic extent (Latifovic et al. 2012, Colditz et al. 2012).
Since then, NALCMS has focused on change detection with
the long-term goal to produce a consistent annual time series
of land cover data. NALCMS land cover products are designed
to meet the needs of communities that require consistent
land cover change data at a continental scale. These include
applications in climate change, weather service, hydrology,
biodiversity and carbon sequestration. This paper presents
the NALCMS approach for change detection and results of
the land cover change analysis between the years 2005 and
2010.
Consistent multi-temporal mapping and
monitoring of land cover change over large
regions remains to be a challenging task in
remote sensing science.
918
October 2014
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
