Land cover

Land cover refers to the physical material at the surface of the earth. Land covers include grass, asphalt, trees, bare ground, water, etc. There are two primary methods for capturing information on land cover: field survey and analysis of remotely sensed imagery.

Types of Land Cover

Land cover is divided into several types. These include:

• Forest: Areas dominated by trees.
• Agriculture: Areas used for the growth of crops and rearing of animals.
• Urban: Areas characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it.
• Water Bodies: These include oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, and wetlands.
• Desert: Areas with sparse vegetation, typically due to low rainfall.
• Ice/Snow: These are areas that are predominantly covered with ice and snow.

Importance of Land Cover

Understanding land cover is essential for many environmental applications including sustainability, land use planning, and wildlife management. It provides crucial information for environmental policy, planning, and education.

Land Cover Change

Land cover change refers to a change in the use of the land by humans or a change in the physical state of the land. This can be due to natural phenomena like floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, etc., or due to human activities like deforestation, urbanization, etc.

Land Cover Mapping

Land cover mapping is a critical tool for environmental planning and management. It involves the use of remote sensing data to map the land cover of a specific area.

See Also

• Land use
• Remote sensing
• Geography
• Environmental science

References

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