Landscape Planning of Land-Use Using High Resolution Satellite Images and Ground-Based Data

A great advantage of satellite images is that all the environmental elements can be visualized on them. Therefore they serve as a main source of information for the extraction of natural features in landscape-ecological research. The application of remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) in landscape planning allows us fast and objectively to analyze the relations and interdependences of landscape features and factors, to investigate the changes in land-use as well as to design different simulation models of the landscape. The main objective of the research is the application of archive and modern satellite images and aerial photos in the large-scale landscape planning of the land-use. For the elaboration of a landscape plan in scale 1:10,000 the land of Novi Iskur town, Sofia municipality was chosen, which is part of one of the aerospace test sites on the territory of Republic of Bulgaria. The choice of the study area is determined by its high rate of antropogenization as a result of the uranium-ore extraction and open coal mining, carried out in the second half of 20th century. For the study high resolution panchromatic and multispectral georeferenced and orthorectified satellite images from QuickBird and IKONOS satellites, along with declassified high-resolution panchromatic satellite images from KH-7 acquired respectively in 2008, 2002 and 1966 were used. The employed methods are object-oriented classification and computer-aided visual interpretation with minimal mapping unit of 0.1 ha of the satellite images. A combined land cover/land use classification diagram has been used, based on the two international classifications – USGS and CORINE Land Cover.

The developed methods for monitoring of the land-use aiming at landscape planning of the territory were applied in four main stages:
1). Creation of integrated geodatabase which stores information for climate, relief, geology, soil and vegetation cover, as well as georeferenced and orthorectified satellite dataset; 2). The second stage is conductance of change detection of the land use / land cover using archive and modern satellite images. Field check and accuracy assessment of the classification results is done. The accuracy assessment of the object-oriented classification is 90%, which was not sufficient for the study purposes. Therefore, the feature data obtained through the computer-aided visual interpretation are used for the creation of the land-use/land-cover maps and their change detection; 3). Maps of the natural (primary) and semi-natural (secondary) landscapes along with models for their spatial and temporal dynamics for 1966 and 2008 were prepared; 4). A landscape plan with relevant suggestions and recommendations for the territorial development of the land-use for the Novi Iskur town was prepared. The results of the present research can be used by the local authorities, the public and stakeholders in taking professional decisions for achieving optimal and sustainable land-use structure.