Abstract

MENESES, Bruno M.; VALE, Maria José; REIS, Rui  and  SARAIVA, Raquel. Methodology for evaluation of changes in land use and land cover in mainland Portugal in the last three decades. CIDADES [online]. 2013, n.27, pp.50-60. ISSN 2182-3030.  https://doi.org/10.7749/citiescommunitiesterritories.dec2013.027.art04.

In the last decades Portugal has undergone major changes in land use and land cover (LULC). However, these changes have not been quantified for the years before 1985. This paper reports the results of a methodology used to estimate of the changes between 1980 and 2010, based on samples of LULC. The LULC information used in these assessments resulted from a combination of different methodologies, starting with the selection of aerial photographs, georeferencing, identification/characterization and, finally, vectorization of LULC. These results were then extrapolated to Portugal Continental. This paper presents these methods as well as the variations of LULC estimated for three time-periods (decades from 1980/95, 1995/2010 and 1980/2010). The results obtained show an increase over time of land occupied by forest and a decrease in agricultural land.

Keywords : Land use and land cover; Estimation LULC; Geographic information; GIS.

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