LAND USE CLASSIFICATION

FRAMEWORK

AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Cecilia NjengaGwarajena TRD

The Facilitation Team

Cecilia Njenga

Mac Mashiri

Matheri Kangethe

Prof. Kadmiel

Wekwete

• National Land-Use

Classification Frameworks

• National Land-Use

Classification Frameworks1

• Land use classification• Land use classification2

• Emerging issues• Emerging issues3

Presentation Overview

LUCF framework (both spatially and in terms

of classification) for linking the various land

information themes

dadd

Maps

Land use classification SystemConcepts, Principles, symbols Data

Agr

ic

For

est

ry

Human

settlem

ents

Cons

ervat

ion

Fis

her

ies

wetlands MiningTrans

port

Stakeh

older

inputs

SH

Inputs

What are the issues?

• Rapid change in land use – high rate of urbanisation, housing, regeration, conservation,

• How to create a framework that can incorporate all the classifications that already exist

• Inconsistencies in land use categories and classification

• Current land reforms – private vs public- from commercial to small scale farming

• Natural resources – minerals - oil and gas

• Personal identity tied to land

• Conservation issues vs livelihoods, etc

• Management of transboundary resources

Learning Objectives

• Technology

• Procedure

• Policies

• Benefits

NATIONAL Land Use Classification

Framework

• An initial step in developing a national land

use framework is to identify the current state

of land use mapping in the country

• Level of detail not the same through out

• Not static

• Levels of hierarchy.

A standard approach to land use

classification

• promotes communication between different users and sectors;

• provides a basis for linking systems in common use;

• enables wider use of data; and

• avoids differences in terminology that can mask detection or measurement of change.

Comparison between UK and

Australia LUC Frameworks

UK

• National Land use data Base: Land use and Land cover Classification intended to:-

• provide a framework for harmonising existing classifications;

• to facilitate consistent collection and reporting of land use and land cover information;

• to provide the basis for the creation of national data sets.

It has been designed to serve as a standard classification available for adoption by bodies involved in the routine collection of land use and land cover data.

Australia

• Australian Land Use and Management Classification Framework (ALUM)

• is a nationally agreed system for classifying land use

• framework is a hierarchical classification based on land use, land management practices and other land occupation attributes.

• It has a 3-tiered hierarchical structure with primary, secondary and tertiary classes

LAND COVER ≠ LAND USE

Although land cover and land use are related, they are not the same.

LC - refers to the observed physical surface of the earth, including various combinations of vegetation types, soils, exposed rocks, water bodies.

LU- refers to the purpose to which land is committed, including the production of goods (such as crops, timber and manufactures) and

services (such as defence, recreation, biodiversity and natural resources protection).

Within a country, matching land covers (e.g. vegetation types) identified from satellite images with actual land uses on the ground is one of the greatest challenges of land use mapping

Remote sensing experts + specialists with field knowledge of specific geographic areas (e.g. land managers, scientists, and government staff) are needed to identify and classify land uses.

GROUND TRUTH

How many Land- use classes?

The selected number of class categories depends on:

– availability of geographic data and analysis,

– ability to detect differences in land cover on remote sensed imagery (image resolution),

– availability of other information on land uses

– and the desired rigor of analysis

multidisciplinary team

Identifying land uses

• Consult the literature - provide an overview on how to match land covers with land uses.

• Check map availability: -Reviewing previous land use change analysis is an important early task.

• Develop decision rules to convert land cover classes to land uses.

• Collect land use information during fieldwork activities.

• Confirm land cover and land use data.

• Consider image resolution when developing land use legend:

• What You Layer Is What You Get

• A layer is a set of vector data organized by some subject. Think of each layer as a film transparency (remember those?), only a digital version. When you put one layer on top of another, you form a map that contains new information. This concept is shown in Figure 4.

•Figure 4. How layers make up a map

Australian LUC Framework

Data management and analysis

• Analysis of land use change requires careful

management of data.

• Human resources and expertise

• Data and documentation

• Analytical methods

• Hardware

• software

Multiple GIS data layers

Emerging Issues

• Challenge designing a classification system that can respond to the needs of a variety of users, and where all possible end uses cannot be known a priori

• there is no one ideal or universal classification of land use and land cover.

• classification is usually designed for a particular purpose, a particular geographical area or a particular user.

• Reasonably high degree of flexibility needed to allow for (i) the integration and relation of different classification systems and taxonomies and (ii) the design of an ontology and a high level classification system for use with data collected from different sources including remote sensing and GIS

Summary

• Land as finite public good? Where does the

responsibility lie?

- Public authority

- Community, PS, LG, PG and NG

- What technological innovations?

- What capacities?

QUESTIONS?