Identifying Land Use and Land-Use Changes (LULUC): A Global LULUC Matrix

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Remote Sensing
• Geographic Information Systems

Background:

• Accurate land use and land-use change (LULUC) data are vital for assessing anthropogenic environmental impacts.
• Existing datasets often lack the detail or scale needed to track LULUC effectively.
• There is a need for consistent, country-specific data that captures transitions between land-use types.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a comprehensive database of country-specific LULUC matrices.
• To provide spatially explicit data on land-use changes from 2001 to 2012.
• To facilitate global-scale analyses of LULUC and their environmental consequences.

Main Methods:

• Combined MODIS remotely sensed land cover data with FAOSTAT land-use data.
• Developed 231 country-specific LULUC matrices following IPCC guidelines.
• Created two versions of matrices: one based on canopy cover, another distinguishing forest types and permanent crops.

Main Results:

• Generated the first country-based, consistent set of spatially explicit LULUC matrices.
• Quantified land-use changes between land classes for the period 2001–2012.
• The database offers detailed insights into land transitions, crucial for environmental impact assessment.

Conclusions:

• The developed LULUC database is a significant advancement for global land-use change research.
• It enables a more holistic assessment of environmental impacts stemming from land-use conversions.
• The spatially explicit data serves as a foundation for future studies on LULUC drivers.