Land-cover change mapping for a regional land-use plan

Classification of two satellite dates to map where vegetation, cropland and built-up land changed.

About this project

Project overview

Example workflow showing how Spatial Nexus approaches this type of analysis.

Classification of two satellite dates to map where vegetation, cropland and built-up land changed.

This page shows a typical Spatial Nexus workflow for this type of analysis.

  • land cover change mapping
  • LULC classification
  • Google Earth Engine land cover
  • remote sensing change detection
  • regional land use planning

Project at a glance

Sector
Remote Sensing
Software
Google Earth Engine, QGIS, Python, ERDAS IMAGINE, ENVI, ArcGIS Pro

THE CHALLENGE

What needed solving

  • Land-use plans need evidence of how land cover has changed.
  • Manual interpretation of large areas is slow and inconsistent.

OBJECTIVES

What the project set out to do

  • Classify land cover for two dates.
  • Quantify change between classes.
  • Report accuracy transparently.

Methodology

Our workflow, step by step

01

Pre-processing

Cloud masking and compositing for each date.

02

Classification

Supervised classification into agreed land-cover classes.

03

Accuracy assessment

Confusion matrix against independent reference points.

04

Change analysis

Cross-tabulation of classes between the two dates.

Visual output

The map

Select the image to view it at full size.

Landsat 8 natural-colour image of Lahore and the Ravi River, May 2024

Results

What the analysis delivered

  • Land-cover maps for each date.
  • A from–to change matrix with area statistics.
  • Accuracy assessment with confusion matrix.

Key highlights

Why this project stands out

  • Pre-processing
  • Classification
  • Accuracy assessment
  • Change analysis

Data sources

Data used

  • Landsat or Sentinel-2 imagery for two dates
  • Reference samples for training and validation

Tools and technologies

Software and methods

Google Earth Engine
QGIS
Python
ERDAS IMAGINE
ENVI
ArcGIS Pro

Deliverables

What the client received

  • Land-cover rasters and vectors
  • Area statistics and change matrix
  • Confusion matrix and accuracy figures
  • Map series

FAQ

Questions about this project

Which classes are mapped?

Classes are agreed with the client, typically water, vegetation, cropland, bare land and built-up areas.

How is accuracy measured?

With independent reference samples and a confusion matrix reporting overall and per-class accuracy.

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