The effect of using spectral transform images as input data on segmentation quality and its potential effect on products generated by object-based image analysis are explored in the context of land cover classification in Accra, Ghana. Five image data transformations are compared to untransformed spectral bands in terms of their effect on segmentation quality and final product accuracy. The relationship between segmentation quality and product accuracy is also briefly explored.

A key driver of biodiversity loss is human landscape transformation. Change detection and trajectory analysis are frequently applied methods for studying landscape change. We studied to what degree habitat-specific change detection and trajectory analysis provide different information on landscape change compared to the analysis with land-cover statistics. Our research was carried out at two spatial scales (regional, 1800 km2, 360 random points; local, 23 km2, polygon-based maps) in the Kiskunság, Hungary.

In this letter, we present the methodology and accuracy assessment of a new regional 250-m spatial resolution land cover map of insular Southeast Asia. Nearly 500 daily Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer images (acquired 2 January–3 July 2010) were used in the production of the map. Additionally, peatland maps, elevation information and Daichi-Advanced Land Observing Satellite mosaic data were utilized in the mapping process.

The Chilan Mountain cypress forest, northeastern Taiwan, is the only one where the genus Chamaecyparis is situated in a subtropical region. The health of a forest ecosystem is closely tied to the evapotranspiration (ET) of water through forests. This study focused on estimating the ET of old-growth cypress in the Chilan Mountain area and investigated its spatial variability in different watershed divisions using remote sensing.

In semi-arid African regions (annual rainfall between 200 and 600 mm), variability of vegetative activity is mainly due to the rainfall of the current rainy season. In most of South Africa, the rainy season occurs from October to March. On average, vegetative activity lags rainfall by 1 to 2 months. The interannual variability in early summer (December to September) normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) depends primarily on precipitation at the beginning (October to November) of the rainy season.

BACKGROUND: Recent evidence indicates that some populations of European corn borer (ECB), Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner), have declined to historic lows owing to widespread adoption of Bt corn hybrids. To understand current ECB populations in Pennsylvania field corn, the authors assessed larval damage in Bt and non‐Bt corn hybrids at 29 sites over 3 years. The influence of Bt adoption rates, land cover types and moth activity on levels of ECB damage was also considered.

The active remote-sensing technique differential radar interferometry (D-InSAR) is a powerful method for detection and deformation monitoring of landslides. But the radar-specific imaging geometry causes specific spatial distortions in radar images (as e.g. the layover and shadowing effect), which have a negative impact on the suitability of these images for D-InSAR applications. To address this issue, we present a geographical information system (GIS) procedure to accurately predict the areas in which layover and shadowing will occur, before the area of interest is recorded by radar.

The cold regions hydrological model (CRHM) platform, a physically based hydrological model using a modular and object-oriented structure, has been applied for simulating the redistribution of snow by wind, snowmelt, infiltration, evapo-transpiration, soil moisture balance, surface depression storage and run-off routing. Land use and land cover classification is a preprocessing procedure to provide the required parameters for CRHM. Per-pixel-based and object-oriented classifications are the two major classification approaches currently in practice.

In-depth statistical analysis of forest transition between land-cover types over time can reveal the dominant signals of landscape transformation, which are needed in order to develop appropriate land management strategies. We applied a recently developed methodology to analyse the transition matrix of six land-cover classes, derived from 1986 and 2002 Landsat images of an area of 15 675 km² in southern Burkina Faso. Results show that most landscape transformations followed a systematic process.

Biodiversity conservation is a primary function of protected areas. However, protected areas also attract people, and therefore, land use has intensified at the boundaries of these lands globally. In the USA, since the 1970s, housing growth at the boundaries (