Annual variation of the control-burned grassland areas in the Aso district [Japan] by Landsat image data analysis
2006
Inomata, H.(Kyushu Univ., Fukuoka (Japan)) | Qong, M. | Suzuki, Y. | Fukuma, M.
Grasslands in the Aso Pastureland have contributed to natural resources of grazing and tourism, and have been maintained by human activities such as controlled burning, mowing and grazing. Recently, since it is a nationwide trend that the population in the rural area has decreased with increased average age, the above efforts necessary for conserving semi-natural grasslands in the Aso Pastureland have not been sufficiently executed. Usually, cooperative works of controlled burning are carried out around the later half of March every year. Therefore, by analyzing satellite image data obtained in early April, we may judge whether the grassland was burned or not. Actually, the control-burned grasslands are able to be clearly identified, for example, from the false color image of Landsat TM data processed as R: Band5, G: Band4, B: Band3. And the total area value can be also derived by counting the number of the pixels which are classified into the class of control-burned grassland. The obtained results are as follows. (1) The area of control-burned grassland in the Aso District in 1997 was decreased by about 20% from that in 1989. (2) The averaged area of control-burned grassland in the Aso District in these several years (from 1997 to 2003) was about twelve thousands hectares.
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