Análisis comparativo de las metodologías de los sistemas de clasificación de la cobertura de la Tierra LCCS y CORINE, para mapeo de coberturas terrestres

Abstract

The mapping of land use and cover in different Latin American countries has been developed following various classification systems, information sources, scales and methods of processing multiple sources of data and images. For example, in Colom- bia the national land cover map was prepared by adapting the Corine Land Cover- CLC methodology of the European Union; in Argentina, the Land Cover Classifica- tion System (LCCS) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) was applied for the elaboration of the national land cover map.  Based on the above mentioned, it was proposed to carry out a comparative anal- ysis of this two methodologies, in order to evaluate the possibility of building in the near future a standardized methodology for mapping the land cover at the regional level. The proposal is based on the United Nations Global Management of Geospatial Information of the Americas (UN-GGIM: Americas) initiative focused on the need for standardization thematic mapping, in order to achieve greater ability to synthesize and understand the nature, distribution, state, quality and dynamics of changes that over time occur in the natural resources of the region.  During the research, a comprehensive analysis of information, studies, cartog- raphy, images, and existing standards was carried out and a state of art document was prepared. FieldworN was carried out in two pilot areas, in order to familiarize with the landscapes and land cover of Colombia and Argentina. Landsat images were ac- quired for these pilot areas, radiometric and geometric adjustments and improve- ments were made, and images were examined and interpretation patterns were extracted for each mapping unit. Finally, a comparative analysis of the legends of each classification system was elaborated. It was concluded that both methodologies, although implemented in different geographical environments, are complementary solutions for the mapping of land cover and use. Each system offers different levels of disaggregation with more or less incorporation of biophysical variables, allowing a wide spectrum of thematic applications.