ABSTRACT

The world's land cover is changing rapidly, primarily as a result of human impacts but also because of climate change. Unfortunately accurate information on rates of change is usually only available locally. Improved information on land cover change is important not only because of its relevance to the carbon cycle but also because of its impact on ecosystem services and biodiversity. Countrywide, continent-wide and global estimates of change often have large unknown errors. Large-scale application of MODIS and Landsat-class data could certainly greatly improve estimates of change. The role of international organizations to better coordinate standards and protocols especially with respect to validation will be discussed.