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Land-cover

Land-cover

This article has been reviewed by the following Topic Editor: Robert Pontius

 

Land-use and land-cover compared with ground observations of land. (Credit: <a href='/article/User:Erle.ellis' title='User:Erle.ellis'>Erle Ellis</a>) Land-use and land-cover compared with ground observations of land. (Credit: Erle Ellis)

Land-cover denotes the surface cover over land, including vegetation, rock and human-modified surfaces such as buildings. Land-cover is a characteristic of the land that can be observed physically, as by remote sensing. This is different than land-use, because a single land-cover type can be used in various ways by humans.

Citation

Erle Ellis (Lead Author);Robert Pontius (Topic Editor) "Land-cover". In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). [First published in the Encyclopedia of Earth April 14, 2009; Last revised Date April 14, 2009; Retrieved May 24, 2013 <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Land-cover>

The Author

Erle EllisDr. Erle Ellis is Associate Professor of Geography and Environmental Systems at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where he teaches Environmental Science, Landscape Ecology and Biogeochemistry. His research focuses on ecological processes in anthropogenic landscapes at local, regional and global scales, and their transformation by population growth and industrially-based technologies. He has studied long-term changes in nitrogen balance in village ecosystems of China's Tai Lake Re ... (Full Bio)

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