VEGETATION - 2000

Lake Maggiore - Italy, 3-6 April 2000

Multitemporal analysis of the VEGETATION data for landcover assessment and monitoring in Indochina.

Chandra Giri & Surendra Shrestha
UNEP Environment Assessment Programme for Asia and the Pacific
Asian Institute of Technology
P.O. Box 4, Klongluang, Pathumthani 12120, Thailand
Email: cpgiri@ait.ac.th & surendra@ait.ac.th
Josef Aschbacher
Directorate General Joint Research Centre (DG/JRC)
pace Applications Institute (SAI)
I-21020 ISPRA (Va) Italy
Email: josef.aschbacher@jrc.it

Paper (pdf file, 625 k)

Land use/land cover changes are occurring at an unprecedented rate and scale in Indochina. Accurate and reliable data, however, have not been available in the past. The current study aims at improving this situation. SPOT VEGETATION and NOAA AVHRR data were used to assess the usefulness of the data for accurate delineation and demarcation of major land cover types in the region. Land cover maps of 1985/86 and 1992/93 were prepared using NOAA AVHRR and a land cover map of 2000 was prepared using VEGETATION data.

The paper presents a synopsis of this exercise focusing on the usefulness of VEGETATION data and its comparative advantage over NOAA AVHRR data. The ultimate purpose is to integrate the use of VEGETATION data into a regular assessment and monitoring operation of land cover types in Asia.