ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information

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4 pages, 197 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Geo-Informatics in Resource Management

by Francisco Javier Mesas-Carrascosa

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(11), 628; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9110628 - 26 Oct 2020

Viewed by 2353

Abstract

Natural resource management requires reliable and timely information available at local, regional, national, and global scales. Geo-informatics, by remote sensing, global navigation satellite systems, geographical information systems, and related technologies, provides information for natural resource management, environmental protection, and support related to sustainable [...] Read more.

Natural resource management requires reliable and timely information available at local, regional, national, and global scales. Geo-informatics, by remote sensing, global navigation satellite systems, geographical information systems, and related technologies, provides information for natural resource management, environmental protection, and support related to sustainable development. Geo-informatics has proven to be a powerful technology for studying and monitoring natural resources as well as in generating predictive models, making it an important decision-making tool. The manuscripts included in this Special Issue focus on disciplines that advance the field of resource management in geomatics. The manuscripts showcased here provide different examples of challenges in resource management. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geo-Informatics in Resource Management)

Research

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15 pages, 2752 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Modeling Major Rural Land-Use Changes Using the GIS-Based Cellular Automata Metronamica Model: The Case of Andalusia (Southern Spain)

by Rafael M. Navarro Cerrillo, Guillermo Palacios Rodríguez, Inmaculada Clavero Rumbao, Miguel Ángel Lara, Francisco Javier Bonet and Francisco-Javier Mesas-Carrascosa

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(7), 458; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9070458 - 20 Jul 2020

Cited by 28 | Viewed by 4958

Abstract

The effective and efficient planning of rural land-use changes and their impact on the environment is critical for land-use managers. Many land-use growth models have been proposed for forecasting growth patterns in the last few years. In this work; a cellular automata (CA)-based [...] Read more.

The effective and efficient planning of rural land-use changes and their impact on the environment is critical for land-use managers. Many land-use growth models have been proposed for forecasting growth patterns in the last few years. In this work; a cellular automata (CA)-based land-use model (Metronamica) was tested to simulate (1999–2007) and predict (2007–2035) land-use dynamics and land-use changes in Andalucía (Spain). The model was calibrated using temporal changes in land-use covers and was evaluated by the Kappa index. GIS-based maps were generated to study major rural land-use changes (agriculture and forests). The change matrix for 1999–2007 showed an overall area change of 674971 ha. The dominant land uses in 2007 were shrubs (30.7%), woody crops on dry land (17.3%), and herbaceous crops on dry land (12.7%). The comparison between the reference and the simulated land-use maps of 2007 showed a Kappa index of 0.91. The land-cover map for the projected PRELUDE scenarios provided the land-cover characteristics of 2035 in Andalusia; developed within the Metronamica model scenarios (Great Escape; Evolved Society; Clustered Network; Lettuce Surprise U; and Big Crisis). The greatest differences were found between Great Escape and Clustered Network and Lettuce Surprise U. The observed trend (1999–2007–2035) showed the greatest similarity with the Big Crisis scenario. Land-use projections facilitate the understanding of the future dynamics of land-use change in rural areas; and hence the development of more appropriate plans and policies Full article

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23 pages, 14924 KiB

Open AccessArticle

GIS-Based Mapping of Seismic Parameters for the Pyrenees

by José Lázaro Amaro-Mellado and Dieu Tien Bui

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(7), 452; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9070452 - 17 Jul 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4097

Abstract

In the present paper, three of the main seismic parameters, maximum magnitude -M_max, b-value, and annual rate -AR, have been studied for the Pyrenees range in southwest Europe by a Geographic Information System (GIS). The [...] Read more.

In the present paper, three of the main seismic parameters, maximum magnitude -M_max, b-value, and annual rate -AR, have been studied for the Pyrenees range in southwest Europe by a Geographic Information System (GIS). The main aim of this work is to calculate, represent continuously, and analyze some of the most crucial seismic indicators for this belt. To this end, an updated and homogenized Poissonian earthquake catalog has been generated, where the National Geographic Institute of Spain earthquake catalog has been considered as a starting point. Herein, the details about the catalog compilation, the magnitude homogenization, the declustering of the catalog, and the analysis of the completeness, are exposed. When the catalog has been produced, a GIS tool has been used to drive the parameters’ calculations and representations properly. Different grids (0.5 × 0.5° and 1 × 1°) have been created to depict a continuous map of these parameters. The b-value and AR have been obtained that take into account different pairs of magnitude–year of completeness. M_max has been discretely obtained (by cells). The analysis of the results shows that the Central Pyrenees (mainly from Arudy to Bagnères de Bigorre) present the most pronounced seismicity in the range. Full article

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15 pages, 3823 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Oil Flow Analysis in the Maritime Silk Road Region Using AIS Data

by Yijia Xiao, Yanming Chen, Xiaoqiang Liu, Zhaojin Yan, Liang Cheng and Manchun Li

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 265; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040265 - 20 Apr 2020

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3781

Abstract

Monitoring maritime oil flow is important for the security and stability of energy transportation, especially since the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road” (MSR) concept was proposed. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) provides public annual oil flow data of maritime oil chokepoints, which [...] Read more.

Monitoring maritime oil flow is important for the security and stability of energy transportation, especially since the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road” (MSR) concept was proposed. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) provides public annual oil flow data of maritime oil chokepoints, which do not reflect subtle changes. Therefore, we used the automatic identification system (AIS) data from 2014 to 2016 and applied the proposed technical framework to four chokepoints (the straits of Malacca, Hormuz, Bab el-Mandeb, and the Cape of Good Hope) within the MSR region. The deviations and the statistical values of the annual oil flow from the results estimated by the AIS data and the EIA data, as well as the general direction of the oil flow, demonstrate the reliability of the proposed framework. Further, the monthly and seasonal cycles of the oil flows through the four chokepoints differ significantly in terms of the value and trend but generally show an upward trend. Besides, the first trough of the oil flow through the straits of Hormuz and Malacca corresponds with the military activities of the U.S. in 2014, while the second is owing to the outbreak of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in 2015. Full article

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19 pages, 5067 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of Geological and Ecological Bearing Capacity and Spatial Pattern along Du-Wen Road Based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) Method

by Zhoufeng Wang, Xiangqi He, Chen Zhang, Jianwei Xu and Yujun Wang

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 237; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040237 - 10 Apr 2020

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3165

Abstract

As China is a mountainous country, a large quantity of the population has to live in mountainous areas due to limited living space. Most of them cluster along roads in areas with relatively poor traffic conditions. In view of the spatial-temporal change of [...] Read more.

As China is a mountainous country, a large quantity of the population has to live in mountainous areas due to limited living space. Most of them cluster along roads in areas with relatively poor traffic conditions. In view of the spatial-temporal change of complex geological and ecological environment along the roads in the mountains, this paper takes the Dujiangyan- Wenchuan (Du-Wen) Road as the research object, and puts forward a method to evaluate the bearing capacity of regional geological and ecological environment based on the evaluation of quality and spatial coupling of bearing capacity. For the needs of the current research, a total number of 20 indicators from three aspects of geological, ecological, and social attributes were selected to carry out the assessment. Based on the GIS platform and evaluation index system, the weight of each evaluation index factor is determined by Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The comprehensive quality of bearing capacity is calculated by the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) algorithm through weighted superposition, which comes to result in the evaluation of geological, ecological, and social environment. Afterward, the bearing capacity of the study area is classified, combining the results of hot spot analysis. The study shows that the spatial distribution of geological, ecological, and socio-economic bearing capacity in this area is highly aggregated, with 31.12% of the area to be classified as suitable construction area, 31.98% as backup reserve area, and 36.79% as unsuitable construction area. The studied triangle area, composed of Yingxiu Town, Xuankou Town, and Dujiangyan City, presents a large area of a high-valued aggregation area, with comprehensive high quality bearing capacity and spatial aggregation, which is better for planning and construction. Full article

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14 pages, 3829 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Disaster Mitigation in Urban Pakistan Using Agent Based Modeling with GIS

by Ayesha Maqbool, Zain ul Abideen Usmani, Farkhanda Afzal and Alia Razia

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 203; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040203 - 27 Mar 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3593

Abstract

This study aims to propose an application of agent based modeling (ABM) and simulation for disaster mitigation in an urban region of Pakistan. Pakistan has been working over the past few decades to reduce the risk factor of disasters by using different disaster [...] Read more.

This study aims to propose an application of agent based modeling (ABM) and simulation for disaster mitigation in an urban region of Pakistan. Pakistan has been working over the past few decades to reduce the risk factor of disasters by using different disaster management approaches. However, these efforts are in an early stage. Although lack of planning and unchecked urbanization are the main hurdles, insufficient resources in terms of technology is also a major contributing factor that impedes achieving desired results. In this paper, we are proposing ABM and simulation of approaches using geographical information system (GIS) maps for disaster management in the urban locality of Pakistan. The conceptual model was implemented for analysis of resource allocation (RA) of first response units (ambulances, fire brigade, etc.). In the proposed model, we used two allocation algorithms; high severity level (HSL) and first come first serve (FCFS). These algorithms were simulated in NetLogo by creating a hypothetical disaster scenario in Rawalpindi city. In our experiments, the design was based on demand, resource agents, and their allocation behavior for disaster management. We analyzed the resource allocation mechanism using average wait time, overall number of demands, execution time, and unallocated demands as performance measures. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geo-Informatics in Resource Management)

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16 pages, 4151 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Abandoned Farmland Location in Areas Affected by Rapid Urbanization Using Textural Characterization of High Resolution Aerial Imagery

by Juan José Ruiz-Lendínez

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 191; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040191 - 25 Mar 2020

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2392

Abstract

Several studies have demonstrated that farmland abandonment occurs not only in rural areas, but is also closely interlinked with urbanization processes. Therefore, the location of abandoned land and the registration of the spatial information referring to it play important roles in urban land [...] Read more.

Several studies have demonstrated that farmland abandonment occurs not only in rural areas, but is also closely interlinked with urbanization processes. Therefore, the location of abandoned land and the registration of the spatial information referring to it play important roles in urban land management. However, mapping abandoned land or land in the process of abandonment is not an easy task because the limits between the different land uses are not clear and precise. It is therefore necessary to develop methods that allow estimating and mapping this type of land as accurately as possible. As an alternative to other geomatics methods such as satellite remote sensing, our approach proposes a framework for automatically locating abandoned farmland in urban landscapes using the textural characterization and segmentation of aerial imagery. Using the city of Poznań (Poland) as a case study, results demonstrated the feasibility of applying our approach, reducing processing time and workforce resources. Specifically and by comparing the results obtained with the data provided by CORINE Land Cover, 2275 ha (40.3%) of arable land within the city limits were abandoned, and the area of abandoned arable land was almost 9.2% of the city’s area. Finally, the reliability of the proposed methodology was assessed from two different focuses: (i) the accuracy of the segmentation results (from a positional point of view) and (ii) the efficiency of locating abandoned land (as a specific type of land use) in urban areas particularly affected by rapid urbanization. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geo-Informatics in Resource Management)

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13 pages, 2425 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatial Relationship between Natural Wetlands Changes and Associated Influencing Factors in Mainland China

by Ting Zhou, Anyi Niu, Zhanpeng Huang, Jiaojiao Ma and Songjun Xu

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(3), 179; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9030179 - 20 Mar 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2686

Abstract

Many studies have explored the dynamic change of wetlands distribution which play an important role in wetlands conservation and its sustainable management. However, given an uneven distribution of natural wetland resources in the context of global change, little is known about the spatial [...] Read more.

Many studies have explored the dynamic change of wetlands distribution which play an important role in wetlands conservation and its sustainable management. However, given an uneven distribution of natural wetland resources in the context of global change, little is known about the spatial relationship between natural wetlands changes and associated influencing factors in mainland China. In this study, Moran-based spatial statistics are an effective methodology to examine the spatial patterns of natural wetlands and associated influencing factors at the province level, and GIS mapping is applied to help visualize spatial patterns. Results show that 1) significant spatial agglomeration and regional differences of natural wetlands distribution have been captured by Moran’s I statistics, and the agglomeration level has increased over the past ten years; 2) Seven of the eight factors show significantly strong and positive spatial autocorrelation except for water consumption, and spatial patterns of them show significant spatial clusters or spatial outliers; 3) Spatial coordination between natural wetlands distribution and the associated influencing factors is higher in the western region than in east China and northeast China. Moreover, spatial coordination between a cultivated area or water consumption and natural wetlands distribution is weaker than that of other factors. Finally, the influences generated by neighboring provinces should not be neglected in the implementation of wetlands conservation. This study could provide a scientific basis for the policy making of wetlands conservation and sustainable management systems. Full article

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17 pages, 12724 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessing the Distribution of Heavy Industrial Heat Sources in India between 2012 and 2018

by Caihong Ma, Zheng Niu, Yan Ma, Fu Chen, Jin Yang and Jianbo Liu

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2019, 8(12), 568; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi8120568 - 10 Dec 2019

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3209

Abstract

The heavy industry in India has witnessed rapid development in the past decades. This has increased the pressures and load on the Indian environment, and has also had a great impact on the world economy. In this study, the Preparatory Project Visible Infrared [...] Read more.

The heavy industry in India has witnessed rapid development in the past decades. This has increased the pressures and load on the Indian environment, and has also had a great impact on the world economy. In this study, the Preparatory Project Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer (NPP VIIRS) 375-m active fire product (VNP14IMG) and night-time light (NTL) data were used to study the spatiotemporal patterns of heavy industrial development in India. We employed an improved adaptive K-means algorithm to realize the spatial segmentation of long-term VNP14IMG data and artificial heat-source objects. Next, the initial heavy industry heat sources were distinguished from normal heat sources using a threshold recognition model. Finally, the maximum night-time light data were used to delineate the final heavy industry heat sources. The results suggest, that this modified method is a much more accurate and effective way of monitoring heavy industrial heat sources, and the accuracy of this detection model was higher than 92.7%. The number of main findings were concluded from the study: (1) the heavy industry heat sources are mainly concentrated in the north-east Assam state, east-central Jharkhand state, north Chhattisgarh and Odisha states, and the coastal areas of Gujarat and Maharashtra. Many heavy industrial heat sources were also found around a line from Kolkata on the Eastern Indian Ocean to Mumbai on the Western Indian Ocean. (2) The number of working heavy industry heat sources (NWH) and, particularly, the total number of fire hotspots for each working heavy industry heat source area (NFHWH) are continuing to increase in India. These trends mirror those for the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and total population of India between 2012 and 2017. (3) The largest values of NWH and NFHWH were in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha whereas the smallest negative values, the

S l o p e_N W H

in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh were also the two largest values in the whole country. The smallest negative values of

S l o p e_N W H

and

S l o p e_N F H W H

were in Haryana. The

S l o p e_N F H W H

in the mainland Gujarat had the second most negative value, while the value of the

S l o p e_N W H

was the third-highest positive value. Full article

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16 pages, 5888 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multi-Scale Validation of MODIS LAI Products Based on Crop Growth Period

by Ting Wang, Yonghua Qu, Ziqing Xia, Yiping Peng and Zhenhua Liu

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2019, 8(12), 547; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi8120547 - 30 Nov 2019

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3005

Abstract

Leaf area index (LAI) is one of the most important canopy structure parameters utilized in process-based models of climate, hydrology, and biogeochemistry. In order to determine the reliability and applicability of satellite LAI products, it is critical to validate satellite LAI products. Due [...] Read more.

Leaf area index (LAI) is one of the most important canopy structure parameters utilized in process-based models of climate, hydrology, and biogeochemistry. In order to determine the reliability and applicability of satellite LAI products, it is critical to validate satellite LAI products. Due to surface heterogeneity and scale effects, it is difficult to validate the accuracy of LAI products. In order to improve the spatio-temporal accuracy of satellite LAI products, we propose a new multi-scale LAI product validation method based on a crop growth cycle. In this method, we used the PROSAIL model to derive Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) LAI data and Gaofen-1 (GF-1) for the study area. The Empirical Bayes Kriging (EBK) interpolation method was used to perform a spatial multi-scale transformation of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) LAI products, GF-1 LAI data, and ASTER LAI data. Finally, MODIS LAI satellite products were compared with field measured LAI data, GF-1 LAI data, and ASTER LAI data during the growing season of crop field. This study was conducted in the agricultural oasis area of the middle reaches of the Heihe River Basin in northwestern China and the Conghua District of Guangzhou in Guangdong Province. The results suggest that the validation accuracy of the multi-scale MODIS LAI products validated by ASTER LAI data were higher than those of the GF-1 LAI data and the reference field measured LAI data, showing a R² of 0.758 and relative mean square error (RRMSE) of 28.73% for 15 m ASTER LAI and a R² of 0.703 and RRMSE of 30.80% for 500 m ASTER LAI, which imply that the 15 m MODIS LAI product generated by the EBK method was more accurate than the 500 m and 8 m products. This study provides a new validation method for satellite remotely sensed products. Full article

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13 pages, 4570 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of the Accuracy of the Field Quadrat Survey of Alpine Grassland Fractional Vegetation Cover Based on the Satellite Remote Sensing Pixel Scale

by Jianjun Chen, Xuning Zhao, Huizi Zhang, Yu Qin and Shuhua Yi

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2019, 8(11), 497; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi8110497 - 3 Nov 2019

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3413

Abstract

The fractional vegetation cover (FVC) data measured on the ground is the main source for the calibration and verification of FVC remote sensing inversion, and its accuracy directly affects the accuracy of remote sensing inversion results. However, the existing research on the evaluation [...] Read more.

The fractional vegetation cover (FVC) data measured on the ground is the main source for the calibration and verification of FVC remote sensing inversion, and its accuracy directly affects the accuracy of remote sensing inversion results. However, the existing research on the evaluation of the accuracy of the field quadrat survey of FVC based on the satellite remote sensing pixel scale is inadequate, especially in the alpine grassland of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. In this paper, five different alpine grasslands were examined, the accuracy of the FVC obtained by the photography method was analyzed, and the influence of the number of samples on the field survey results was studied. First, the results show that the threshold method could accurately extract the vegetation information in the photos and obtain the FVC with high accuracy and little subjective interference. Second, the number of samples measured on the ground was logarithmically related to the accuracy of the FVC of the sample plot (p < 0.001). When the number of samples was larger, the accuracy of the FVC of the sample plot was higher and closer to the real value, and the stability of data also increased with the increase of the number of samples. Third, the average FVC of the measured quadrats on the ground was able to represent the FVC of the sample plot, but on the basis that there were enough measured quadrats. Finally, the results revealed that the degree of fragmentation reflecting the state of ground vegetation affects the acquisition accuracy of FVC. When the degree of fragmentation of the sample plot is higher, the number of samples needed to achieve the accuracy index is higher. Our results suggest that when obtaining the FVC on the satellite remote sensing pixel scale, the number of samples measured on the ground is an important factor affecting the accuracy, which cannot be ignored. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geo-Informatics in Resource Management)

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26 pages, 22103 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Efficacy Analysis of Determining the Wooded and Shrubbed Area Based on Archival Aerial Imagery Using Texture Analysis

by Przemysław Kupidura, Katarzyna Osińska-Skotak, Katarzyna Lesisz and Anna Podkowa

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2019, 8(10), 450; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi8100450 - 12 Oct 2019

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2850

Abstract

Open areas, along with their non-forest vegetation, are often threatened by secondary succession, which causes deterioration of biodiversity and the habitat’s conservation status. The knowledge about characteristics and dynamics of the secondary succession process is very important in the context of management and [...] Read more.

Open areas, along with their non-forest vegetation, are often threatened by secondary succession, which causes deterioration of biodiversity and the habitat’s conservation status. The knowledge about characteristics and dynamics of the secondary succession process is very important in the context of management and proper planning of active protection of the Natura 2000 habitats. This paper presents research on the evaluation of the possibility of using selected methods of textural analysis to determine the spatial extent of trees and shrubs based on archival aerial photographs, and consequently on the investigation of the secondary succession process. The research was carried out on imagery from six different dates, from 1971 to 2015. The images differed from each other in spectral resolution (panchromatic, in natural colors, color infrared), in original spatial resolution, as well as in radiometric quality. Two methods of textural analysis were chosen for the analysis: Gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) and granulometric analysis, in a number of variants, depending on the selected parameters of these transformations. The choice of methods has been challenged by their reliability and ease of implementation in practice. The accuracy assessment was carried out using the results of visual photo interpretation of orthophotomaps from particular years as reference data. As a result of the conducted analyses, significant efficacy of the analyzed methods has been proved, with granulometric analysis as the method of generally better suitability and greater stability. The obtained results show the impact of individual image features on the classification efficiency. They also show greater stability and reliability of texture analysis based on granulometric/morphological operations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geo-Informatics in Resource Management)

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