Land use

"The purpose to which the land cover is committed. Some land uses, such as agriculture, have a characteristic land cover pattern. These usually appear in land cover classifications. Other land uses, such as nature conservation, are not readily discriminated by a characteristic land cover pattern. For example, where the land cover is woodland, the land use may be timber production, grazing or nature conservation." (Australian Government, 2019)

Sources

Australian Government. 'Definitions', in Land Management, Department of Agriculture and Water Resources. Accessed March 3, 2019. Available at: http://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/aclump/definitions

Related Content

Article

Interview with Sawaid Abbas, Assistant Professor at the Centre for Geographical Information, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan

Sawaid Abbas, Assistant Professor at the Centre for Geographical Information System, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan discussed his extensive work in addressing water-related challenges through the nexus between smart sensing and space technologies. His thematic focus spans water scarcity, food security, climate risks, and environmental monitoring with an emphasis on the Asia-Pacific region, including Pakistan and China. Key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) guiding his work include SDG2 (Zero Hunger), SDG13 (Climate Action), SDG15 (Life on Land), and SDG11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities). Abbas's passion for water emerged during his early career at the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), where he was involved in Pakistan’s Wetland Program and witnessed the impact of water on associated ecosystems. This sparked his interest in understanding and managing water, forestry, and wildlife resources. He recently studied coastal ecosystems and their responses to climate and anthropogenic stressors in the Asia-Pacific region. The Living Indus – Investing in Ecological Restoration has become a new focus of interest for him, addressing sustainability challenges related to food security, river basin management, and efficient water use in alignment with the UN Decade of Ocean objectives. Abbas shared his fascination with water, recognizing its complex and essential nature. He is captivated by its beauty in all forms and acknowledges its fundamental importance for life on Earth. This water connection further motivates his commitment to addressing global water challenges and promoting sustainable water use through innovative solutions. Sawaid Abbas's work, stimulated by both professional commitment and personal fascination, stresses the critical role of space technologies, particularly earth observation, smart sensing nexus, and artificial intelligence in addressing water-related challenges. His research contributes to the development of innovative solutions for sustainable water use, environmental protection, and disaster response, aligning with global goals for a more resilient and water-secure future.

Wetlands conservation: How satellite observation supports sustainable wetland management

Pelicans in the Danube Delta, Photo by Florin Tomozei.

On 2 February 2020, we celebrate World Wetlands Day to raise global awareness about the vital role of wetlands for people and our planet. This year’s edition highlights the connection between water, wetlands, and life.

Monitoring runoff using Earth observation data

When rain falls on Earth, the water starts moving and flowing downhill through sewers and rivers as runoff. Runoff is extremely important to recharge surface water bodies and groundwater. Furthermore, runoff changes the landscape by action of erosion. It is an integral part of the water cycle (Earth Science Data Systems 2021).

Wetlands conservation: How satellite observation supports sustainable wetland management

Monitoring runoff using Earth observation data

Conservación de humedales: cómo la observación por satélite apoya la gestión sostenible de los humedales

Translated by: Isabel Zetina

El 2 de febrero de 2020 celebramos el Día Mundial de los Humedales para concienciar al mundo sobre el papel vital de los humedales para las personas y nuestro planeta. La edición de este año destaca la conexión entre el agua, los humedales y la vida.

Monitoreando la escorrentía mediante datos de observación de la Tierra

Translated by Isabel Zetina

Cuando la lluvia cae sobre la Tierra, el agua empieza a moverse y a fluir cuesta abajo a través de alcantarillas y ríos en forma de escorrentía. La escorrentía es extremadamente importante para recargar las masas de agua de la superficie y las aguas subterráneas. Además, la escorrentía modifica el paisaje por acción de la erosión. Es una parte integral del ciclo del agua (Earth Science Data Systems 2021).

Monitoring river delta using remote sensing

Since ancient times, people have established communities in river deltas because it provides water, fertile land, and transportation access, making them an ideal place to live. This pattern has been carried forward to the present. With nearly 6 billion people living in river deltas, they are one of the most densely populated places on Earth (Kuenzer and Renaud, 2011). However, they are facing threats such as climate change, sea level rise, land use changes, and ecosystem degradation.

Conservación de humedales: cómo la observación por satélite apoya la gestión sostenible de los humedales

Translated by: Isabel Zetina

Monitoreando la escorrentía mediante datos de observación de la Tierra

Translated by Isabel Zetina

基于卫星遥感的河流三角洲监测

Translated by Dr. Mengyi Jin

自古以来，河流三角洲因水资源丰富、土壤肥沃及交通便利而成为人类聚居的重要区域。这一格局延续至今。目前，生活在三角洲地区的人口已接近 60 亿，使其成为全球人口最稠密的地区之一（Kuenzer and Renaud 2011）。然而，这些三角洲地区正面临着气候变化、海平面上升、土地利用方式转变以及生态系统退化等威胁。遥感技术在获取环境状况及其时序变化方面具有显著优势，其在识别灾害前兆信号、预测自然现象演变等方面发挥着关键作用。在三角洲地区，遥感已被广泛应用于海岸线变化监测、洪水监测与预测等领域（Merkuryeva et al. 2015；Li and Damen 2010）。持续开展三角洲监测不仅有助于维护其生态功能，还能及时识别潜在风险，并为科学管理提供重要依据，而遥感正是实现这一目标的关键技术。

Interview with Webster Gumindoga, PhD Student at University of Twente and Lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe

Webster is a PhD student at the University of Twente’s Faculty of Geoinformation Science and Earth Observation. His PhD thesis is entitled: Observing Zambezi Basin from Space: Satellite based bias correction for hydrological modelling: Webster is also lecturer and researcher at the University of Zimbabwe’s Construction and Civil Engineering Department. He is the coordinator of the regional master’s degree programme in Integrated Water Resources Management, a capacity building programme for the water sector in Southern and Eastern Africa. His research interests are in the areas of GIS and Earth Observation applications in water resources management, sanitation, water quality and disaster management. He is also a consultant who has been seconded as a GIS mentor to many government institutions and developmental partners in Southern Africa. Webster has over 60 publications, numerous regional and international conference papers in areas of spatial and quantitative hydrology, water resources management, quantification of water cycle components and feedbacks between climate, land-uses, water cycles and other societal influences. Webster is the Chief Editor of the Journal of Environmental Management in Zimbabwe (JEMZ).

Interview with Sawaid Abbas, Assistant Professor at the Centre for Geographical Information, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan

Interview with Webster Gumindoga, PhD Student at University of Twente and Lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe

Launch of Zimbabwe's first Satellite ZIMSAT - 1

What began as the development of a cubesat (BIRD-5) at the Kyushu Institute of Technology in Japan took off on a spacecraft to the International Space Station from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, US on 6 November 2022 (watch the video of the launch of the CRS2 NG-18 (Cygnus) Mission (Antares), in the video below the article).

International Conference on Earth Observation and Geo-spatial Information 2023

The first edition of the IEEE International Conference on Earth Observation and Geo-spatial Information (ICEOGI) 2023 is co-organized by the LTIR Laboratory of the University of Sciences and Technology Houari Boumediene (USTHB), Algiers and the LITIO Laboratory of the University of Oran 1 Ahmed Ben Bella (UORAN1), Oran.

9th International Conference on Remote Sensing and Geoinformation of Environment (RSCy2023)

The 9th International Conference on Remote Sensing and Geoinformation of Environment or RSCy2023 will be held in Cyprus on 3-5 April, 2023.

The RSCy2023 is organized by the Cyprus Remote Sensing Society in cooperation with ESA, NASA, Copernicus, DLR, Group On Earth Observations, the Department of Electronic Communications of the Ministry of Communications and Works, the Technical Chamber of Cyprus, the Cyprus Department of Meteorology and the Agricultural Research Institute.

The conference is published by SPIE.

2022 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium - IGARSS 2022

The International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS) is the flagship conference of the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS). It is aimed at providing a platform for sharing knowledge and experience on recent developments and advancements in geoscience and remote sensing technologies, particularly in the context of earth observation, disaster monitoring and risk assessment.

2nd WASAG International Forum 2023

The Global Framework on Water Scarcity in Agriculture (WASAG) will hold its 2nd International Forum with the theme "Making agriculture resilient for climate change: Water scarcity, an opportunity for action and collaboration" on 7-10 February 2023 in Praia, Cabo Verde.

The second WASAG International Forum provides the setting for developing collaborative actions as solutions to the increasing challenges posed by climate change and the resulting water scarcity, in order to make agriculture more resilient. The Forum aims to:

World Climate Research Programme Open Science Conference 2023

The World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) Open Science Conference, focusing on “Advancing climate science for a sustainable future”, will be held in Kigali, Rwanda, and online on 23-27 October 2023, with the major goal of bridging science and society.

13th ESA Training Course on Earth Observation

The purpose of this training course is to train the next generation of Earth Observation scientists in Croatia and beyond.
This training course is organized jointly by the European Space Agency (ESA), Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Computer Science and Information Technology Osijek (FERIT), Croatia and Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Croatia (MZO).

The course will be hosted in-person in Osijek, Croatia, from September 18-22, 2023.

43rd International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium 2023

The International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS) is the world’s premier symposium on geoscience, remote sensing and related topics. The 43rd annual IGARSS is going be to held in person with the theme of “Reconnecting” with our peers and community. This is an ideal forum for obtaining up-to-date information about the latest developments, exchanging ideas, identifying future trends and making networking with the international geoscience and remote sensing community.

2025 Copernicus Land Monitoring Service (CLMS) General Assembly

The second Copernicus Land Monitoring Service (CLMS) General Assembly will be held in Krakow, Poland, at the Centrum Konferencyjne Fabryczna on 20-21 May 2025.

CLMS provide geographical information on land cover and its changes, land use, ground motion, vegetation state, water cycle and Earth surface energy variables for both Europe and the entire globe.

LAND4FLOOD Conference 2023

The IWRA Task Force Land4Flood Network will hold, in cooperation with IWRA, its next Land4Flood conference in Dortmund, Germany, from September 27 to 29, 2023. The conference will be hosted by the “Land policy and land management" research group, part of the Department of Spatial Planning at the TU Dortmund University.

The main theme of the conference is

Local Perspectives Case Studies

Lacking historic knowledge on vegetation cover and surface water extent / river course

Long view of Ngakoahia Stream and surrounding vegetation

The Māori community has Ngakoaohia River running through the customary lands and currently there are no records or knowledge of the river, so the community is not able to use it for any particular function. There is lack of understanding historical land use and land cover surrounding the river. Historical data is essential for understanding where things were planted or where was vegetation in order to be able to decide what plant are suitable for our location. So, the planting will help with the land, stabilising the riverbanks and help with plant life as well. We must work in unity with our environment, so historical data will help not to make ill informed decisions that will be detrimental to the environment.

The effects of land use and land cover changes on water use and management

A person standing in front of a small water dam

We do not have long term studies on how land-use and water sources have changed within the Ëyuujk community. There is less water in my community but is not a dire situation as yet and we do not want to get to a point where there is no more water because we are destroying the forest, or we are not valuing the natural resources before it is too late. We would like to make a historical reconstruction on how the land cover was before and to predict the river levels or water that remains available in some of the sources. This can be linked with a geographic study too because a lot of these sources have a meaning for religious purposes in the community.

German Aerospace Center

The German Aerospace Center (DLR) is Germany's research and technology center for aerospace. It conducts applied and basic research for these industries and also conducts research in the fields of energy, transportation, security, and digitalization.

Remote Sensing, GIS and Climatic Research Lab, University of the Punjab

The emerging demand of GIS and Space Applications for Climate Change studies for the socio-economic development of Pakistan along with Government of Pakistan Vision 2025, Space Vision 2047 of National Space Agency of Pakistan, and achievement of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) impelled the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) to establish Remote Sensing, GIS and Climatic Research Lab (RSGCRL) at University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.

UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology

The UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) is a world-leading independent research institute focused on delivering integrated environmental science to address some of the most pressing challenges facing society and the planet. With over 50 years of expertise, UKCEH operates at the interface of ecology, hydrology, atmospheric science, and data science, providing evidence and tools to support sustainable environmental management.

Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission

Realizing the importance of Space Science and Technology applications for sustainable national development, the Government of Pakistan established Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission. Being the National Space Agency of Pakistan, SUPARCO is mandated to conduct research and development work in the field of space science, technology and its applications for peaceful purposes and socio-economic uplift of country. Its headquarter is located at Islamabad and technical facilities are spread over Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Quetta, Peshawar and Gilgit.

Maina

Esther Maina

GIS and Remote Sensing expert Kenya Space Agency

Esther W. Maina is a skilled geospatial and remote sensing expert with over five years of experience leveraging space-based technologies to advance food systems resilience, natural resource management, and policy development in Kenya. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Geospatial Information Science from Dedan Kimathi University of Technology and a Master’s in Space Entrepreneurship at the European Institute of Innovation for Sustainability in Italy.

Awe-peter

Helen Awe-peter

Principal Scientist National Space Research and Development Agency

I am a geoscientist with expertise in climate change adaptation, hydrological analysis, GIS, and remote sensing. For over six years at the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), I have applied geospatial technologies to address challenges in biodiversity conservation, sustainable land use, and water resource management.

Kabo Bah

Amos Kabo Bah

Dean, International Relations Office University of Energy and Natural Resources

Dr. Amos T. Kabo-Bah is a distinguished expert in climate change, energy, and hydrology. With a Ph.D. from Hohai University, China, he has built an impressive career in research, teaching, and consulting. His experience includes a postdoctoral position at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and his current role as Dean for International Relations at the University of Energy and Natural Resources, Ghana. Dr.

Rajhi

Mohamed Rajhi

PhD candidate and researcher at University of Miskolc, Hungary

Mohamed Rajhi is a dynamic and versatile professional with a rich background in data analysis, project management, and geospatial engineering. With a strong foundation in agricultural and environmental sciences, Mohamed has dedicated his career to leveraging technology and data-driven solutions to address critical challenges in agriculture, water resources management, and sustainable development.

Graf

Lukas Graf

PhD student at Crop Science Group at ETH Zurich

Lepine

Melody Lepine

Director, Mikisew Cree First Nation

Mrs. Melody Lepine is Cree and Dene, a member of the Mikisew Cree First Nation (MCFN) from Fort Chipewyan, Alberta. From a young age, she was motivated by traditional teachings in environmental stewardship to advance studies in environmental conservation sciences at the University of Alberta and Royal Road University. This balance of teachings in both traditional environmental knowledge and western science has become a key strength in Melody’s career.

Software/Tool/(Web-)App

LandMonitoring.Earth

At the occasion of the ‘European Land Monitoring at its crossroads’ conference held in Innsbruck, Austria, in October 2018, GeoVille has released an update of the LandMonitoring.Earth public portal.

Earth Observation Data Analysis Library

Imagery from Earth observing (EO) satellites combined with environmental data about climate, topography and soils holds great potential to advance our knowledge about the dynamics of our planet. Still, the handling and analysis of these data sources is cumbersome and presents a high barrier to entry leaving the potential of EO data underexploited.

Vegetation classification for land of Maori communtiy - in development

Note: this description is a work in progress developed by the collaborating entities in a workshop. If you would like to contribute reach out to office@space4water.org, or your trusted Space4Water point of contact.

Required Software

Google Earth Engine
Google Earth Engine Apps - Global Forest Change

Related Content

Article

Interview with Sawaid Abbas, Assistant Professor at the Centre for Geographical Information, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan

Wetlands conservation: How satellite observation supports sustainable wetland management

Monitoring runoff using Earth observation data

Wetlands conservation: How satellite observation supports sustainable wetland management

Monitoring runoff using Earth observation data

Conservación de humedales: cómo la observación por satélite apoya la gestión sostenible de los humedales

Monitoreando la escorrentía mediante datos de observación de la Tierra

Monitoring river delta using remote sensing

Conservación de humedales: cómo la observación por satélite apoya la gestión sostenible de los humedales

Monitoreando la escorrentía mediante datos de observación de la Tierra

基于卫星遥感的河流三角洲监测

Interview with Webster Gumindoga, PhD Student at University of Twente and Lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe

Interview with Sawaid Abbas, Assistant Professor at the Centre for Geographical Information, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan

Interview with Webster Gumindoga, PhD Student at University of Twente and Lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe

Launch of Zimbabwe's first Satellite ZIMSAT - 1

Event

International Conference on Earth Observation and Geo-spatial Information 2023

9th International Conference on Remote Sensing and Geoinformation of Environment (RSCy2023)

2022 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium - IGARSS 2022

2nd WASAG International Forum 2023

World Climate Research Programme Open Science Conference 2023

13th ESA Training Course on Earth Observation

43rd International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium 2023

2025 Copernicus Land Monitoring Service (CLMS) General Assembly

LAND4FLOOD Conference 2023

Local Perspectives Case Studies

Lacking historic knowledge on vegetation cover and surface water extent / river course

The effects of land use and land cover changes on water use and management

Stakeholder

German Aerospace Center

Remote Sensing, GIS and Climatic Research Lab, University of the Punjab

UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology

Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission

Person

Esther Maina

Helen Awe-peter

Amos Kabo Bah

Mohamed Rajhi

Lukas Graf

Melody Lepine

Software/Tool/(Web-)App

LandMonitoring.Earth

Earth Observation Data Analysis Library

Space-based Solution

Vegetation classification for land of Maori communtiy - in development

Required Software

Surface water extent river course - in development