|
Teagasc has produced the first and only high resolution
national land cover and habitat maps of Ireland.
Produced as part of the Teagasc/EPA Digital Soil and Subsoils
project, these two maps provide a basis for the analysis of
land cover change.
Using advanced image processing techniques and expert rule
classification, Teagasc researchers used computers to automatically
classify satellite images into different types of land cover
and habitats.
Space borne sensors, such as the LANDSAT Thematic Mapper
used in this project, can record images across large geographic
areas and in parts of the electro-magnetic spectrum that human
eyes cannot see. Thirteen images were used in the project
to cover the country in mapping areas as small as one hectare
into classes such as 'Mature Forestry' and 'Wet
Grassland'.
The two maps - Teagasc Land Cover 1995 and Teagasc Habitat
Indicator Map 1995 (1995 was chosen for consistency with other
elements of the project) - now provide a baseline for other
researchers. These maps will allow the effect the Celtic Tiger
period had on changing land use, agricultural land lost to
other uses, soils consumed in development and habitat changes,
to be quantified.
Teagasc researcher Stuart Green says - “This project shows
the enormous potential for the use of satellites in monitoring
land use, agriculture and the wider environment. This research
could not have been achieved using conventional methods. Images
from space allow us to see the broader picture, but also to
zoom into great detail - mapping and measuring things that
we cannot see by eye.”
The work is funded by the Department of the Environment,
Heritage and Local Government (DEHLG) - managed through the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - and known as the 'Teagasc/EPA
Soils and Subsoils Project'.
The full article - 'Teagasc’s national land cover and
habitat maps' can be viewed in the Spring 2010 issue of
TResearch, Teagasc’s research and innovation magazine - Click
Here
The soil and subsoil maps will be detailed in the next issue
of TResearch (Summer 2010).
|
