Land Cover Transition Maps for Para, Brazil Sites: 1970-2001

LBA-ECO LC-09 provides classified land cover transition maps at 30-meter resolution for three study sites in Para, Brazil. The maps were derived from Landsat TM, MSS, ETM+ imagery and aerial photos, classifying land use into categories like forest, pasture, and crops. This dataset from ORNL_CLOUD documents land cover changes over a multi-decade period.

Use Cases

• Analyzing deforestation patterns by tracking transitions from 'forest' to 'pasture' or 'annual crops' over time.
• Quantifying rates of secondary forest succession using the 'secondary succession' land cover class.
• Modeling the historical footprint of agriculture by examining the spatial distribution of 'perennial crops' and 'annual crops'.
• Assessing habitat fragmentation by studying the change matrices between different land cover types.
• Calibrating regional land use change models with high-resolution (30-m) historical geospatial data.

Strengths

• Provides high-resolution (30-m) spatial data enabling detailed land cover analysis.
• Covers a long temporal range (1970-2001) for observing multi-decade environmental change.
• Based on multi-source imagery including Landsat and aerial photos for improved classification.

Limitations

• Image dates are not continuous, being limited to the most cloud-free retrievals, creating temporal gaps.
• The dataset consists of only 3 GeoTIFF files, which may limit the scope of spatial analysis.
• Conflicting 'last updated' metadata exists between platforms (2001 vs. 2026), casting doubt on provenance timeliness.

Provenance

Source

ORNL_CLOUD

Collection Method

Derived from classification of Landsat TM, MSS, ETM+ imagery and aerial photos subjected to change detection analysis.

Time Range

1970-2001

Freshness

2026-03-13 17:39:37.364623

Geography

Three study sites (Altamira, Santarem, Ponta de Pedras) in the state of Para, Brazil.