Semi-automated generation of a multi-temporal forest depletion layer with the Landcover Change Mapper (LCM)

Abstract

Monitoring landscape change is a requisite for sustainable development that should be achievable through the analysis of multitemporal satellite imagery. However, the development of effective methods to analyze these data in a consistent and reliable way is still a challenging issue that demands new approaches. Here we demonstrate the use of a recently developed change detection tool (the Landcover Change Mapper, LCM) for creating a multi-annual disturbance inventory spanning five years in a 10,000 km2 forested area in west-central Alberta, Canada.