Bhutan Land Use and Administrative Boundaries GIS Database

18 land use classes were interpreted from SPOT panchromatic satellite imagery and field-checked. The database includes administrative boundaries for Dzongkhags and Gewogs, as well as a road network, compiled from 1:50,000 scale topographic maps. The Land Use Planning Section of Bhutan's Ministry of Agriculture created the associated atlas in 1997.

Use Cases

• Analyze historical land cover distribution across 20 Dzongkhags using the 18-class land use polygon data.
• Model transportation accessibility by overlaying the road network line data with administrative boundary polygons.
• Calculate area statistics for different land use types within specific Gewog administrative units.
• Assess spatial relationships between infrastructure, such as roads, and different land cover classes.

Strengths

• Includes 18 distinct land use classes derived from satellite imagery.
• Spatial data is based on 1:50,000 scale source maps for detailed resolution.
• Land use data was field-checked for ground truth validation.

Limitations

• Primary land use and road data sources are from 1989/90, making it temporally stale for current analysis.
• The administrative boundaries and road network source map dates are unknown, introducing uncertainty.
• Sample data and row/column counts are unavailable to assess dataset size and structure.

Provenance

Source

Land Use Planning Section, Ministry of Agriculture, Thimphu, Bhutan.

Collection Method

Land use interpreted from SPOT panchromatic imagery and field-checked; administrative and road data digitized from topographic maps.

Time Range

Land use source imagery from 1989/90; atlas report dated 1997.

Geography

Bhutan, specifically its 20 Dzongkhags (Districts) and Gewogs.