Landcover changes. Changes in activity are driven by seasonal variations in temperature and precipitation. These changes are diffuse in space and reversible in time. Landcover also changes because of human activity and these changes are usually irreversible in time and sharp-edged in space.
Both types of landcover change are of interest to us. The first indicates how the biosphere is functioning. The second is a measure of our cumulative impact on the land.
This chapter has demonstrated that both types of landcover change can be detected and interpreted using satellite data. The remaining chapters will illustrate that spatial and temporal patterns of landcover change are related to the major landuse.
