LCLUC Newsletter : Issue 16 | |
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Greetings!
We are pleased to present the latest developments from our LCLUC projects, Science Team members, and related land-cover and land-use change research. This edition features updates on LCLUC news, special issues, webinars, and much more. Take a moment to check out the LCLUC Hotspot Mapper product on our website that shows the geographical distribution of high impact land-use and land-cover change hotspots studied in various LCLUC projects.
We invite you to join our mailing list to receive updates about the LCLUC program!
Enjoy the updates!
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Message from the Program Manager
Dear LCLUCers, friends of LCLUC, and international colleagues and friends,
This past year has not brought more peace or normality to the world. The continuing war situation in Ukraine and in the Middle East keeps the Earth’s inhabitants under more tension than before, with a potential nuclear threat more serious than ever since the Caribbean crisis 62 years ago. In addition, this was our election year, and the United States are going through a change in the federal government, with many repercussions affecting all aspects of our life both in the USA and internationally.
In keeping with the LCLUC tradition, herein I will summarize Program’s achievements in the past year with some personal remarks and convey my best wishes to the LCLUC family and our friends around the world. Read More
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Professor Matthew Hansen Receives 50th Annual William T. Pecora Award
The 50th annual William T. Pecora Award, a prestigious honor jointly bestowed by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), shines a spotlight on the remarkable contributions of individuals who have reshaped the understanding of planet Earth through remote sensing innovations. This year, the Pecora Award recognizes Professor Matthew Hansen (University of Maryland, College Park) for his groundbreaking work in advancing Earth observation applications for land use change and standardizing accuracy assessment of remote sensing products. Throughout his career, Professor Hansen has been at the forefront of using satellite data to monitor and analyze global land cover dynamics. Read More
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Professor Ruth DeFries elected to the National Academy of Engineering
Professor Ruth DeFries (Columbia University) has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering! She is recognized for elucidating anthropogenic land-use change impacts on environmental sustainability, and for providing science for policy decisions. Election to the National Academy of Engineering is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer. Dr. DeFries is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a MacArthur Fellow. Read More
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Professor Jiquan Chen received the 2025 AAG Distinguished Scholarship Honor and IUFRO 2024 Scientific Achievement Award
Dr. Jiquan Chen, Professor of Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences at Michigan State University, has been recognized with the 2025 AAG Distinguished Scholarship Honor and the IUFRO 2024 Scientific Achievement Award for his transformative contributions to geography, environmental science, and forest-related research. With over 600 publications and more than $30 million in research funding, Dr. Chen has advanced our understanding of global ecosystems, particularly through his pioneering SESometry framework, which quantitatively integrates social-environmental system (SES) functions at multiple spatial and temporal scales. His groundbreaking work on edge effects in fragmented landscapes, biosphere-atmosphere exchanges, and the socioecological dynamics of Eurasian drylands has influenced policy and scientific research worldwide, making science more society-relevant. As a leader in landscape ecology and ecosystem science, Dr. Chen has also had a profound impact on global collaborations, open-access data sharing, and academic education, including his ~15 years as (co-)chair of the Landscape Ecology Working Party of IUFRO. Read More AAG award , IUFRO award
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Meha Jain Receives Kuno Award and AGU Early Career Award
Dr. Meha Jain, an Associate Professor at the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability, has been recognized with two prestigious awards: the Early Career Award from the Global Environmental Change section of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and the Kuno Award for Applied Science for the Social Good from the S&R Evermay Foundation. With this funding, Dr. Jain will develop a mobile application providing field-level yield information to support smallholder farmers in India. Her innovative research combines remote sensing and geospatial analyses with household surveys to study the impacts of environmental change on agriculture and to design sustainable solutions for enhancing production in a changing climate. Read More
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Assistant Professor Zhenong Jin receives NSF CAREER Award
Assistant professor Zhenong Jin received a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award for his project: AI-enabled Integrated Nutrient, Streamflow, and Parcel sImulation for Resilient agroEcosystems (INSPIRE): a framework for climate-smart crop production and cleaner water. NSF CAREER Awards recognize early career professionals with promising researchers who have the potential to serve as academic role models and lead their respective fields. Jin’s Digital Agriculture Group work integrates ecology, computational modeling, remote sensing, and machine learning approaches to advance the science that guides sustainable agricultural management, and to develop tools that can help farmers and regulators apply this science more effectively. Read More
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Dr. Sean Woznicki Receives Distinguished Early-Career Scholar Award.
Sean Woznicki, Assistant Professor of Water Resources at the Grand Valley State University Annis Water Resources Institute received the Grand Valley State University Distinguished Early-Career Scholar Award. The award recognizes tenured/tenure-track investigators at Grand Valley State University who began their independent scholarship within the past six years, demonstrate mastery in their field, and show significant potential for continued success. Dr. Woznicki’s research uses hydrological modeling, remote sensing, and geospatial analysis to quantify the impacts of climate and land use change on the hydrological cycle and provisioning of freshwater for ecosystems and society.
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Urgent Flood Mapping with Sentinel-1 Satellite SAR Data in Response to Impacts of Super Typhoon Yagi on Land Cover in Northern Vietnam | |
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Following the devastation caused by Super Typhoon Yagi in northern Vietnam on September 7, 2024, LCLUC PI Son Nghiem and his team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory used Sentinel-1 SAR data and the DRAGON algorithm to produce high-resolution flood maps. These maps, with 10-meter resolution, identified inundated areas across regions such as Hải Phòng, Quảng Ninh, and the Red River lowlands. Verified with WorldView imagery and independent flood mapping products, the maps supported immediate relief efforts, including those coordinated by the U.S. Embassy in Hà Nội and USAID. The data also provided valuable insights for damage assessment, resource distribution, and planning for post-flood recovery in the affected areas. Read More
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LCLUC Research Reveals Drug Trafficking’s Impact on Jaguar
Conservation in Central America
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LCLUC PI, Dr. Nicholas Magliocca, co-authored a study published in Biological Conservation that highlights the alarming impact of drug trafficking on jaguar populations in Central America. The research revealed that approximately 69% of jaguars in the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor (MBC) inhabit areas increasingly exploited by drug cartels. Protected areas, favored for their remoteness, are disproportionately affected, with 52% of jaguar populations in these regions exposed to drug trafficking activities. The study calls for rethinking current anti-drug policies, which often displace trafficking routes into biodiverse habitats, exacerbating deforestation and habitat fragmentation. The authors emphasize the importance of conservation efforts extending beyond protected areas to include community-managed lands and biological corridors. By supporting Indigenous and local communities through sustainable land use and conservation incentives, international stakeholders can help mitigate these threats and advance global biodiversity goals. Read More
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Fieldwork Insights: Uncovering Drivers of Land-Use Change Around
the Dja Faunal Reserve in Cameroon
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As part of LCLUC funded project “Disentangling Land-Use Change in Central Africa to Understand the Role of Local and Indigenous Communities in Forest Restoration and Conservation” led by Dr. Elsa Ordway (UCLA), PhD student Hannah Stouter (UCLA) led fieldwork in Cameroon alongside a team of researchers including Fanny Djomkam (IITA), Zita Tchengo (Univ. of Yaounde I), Raissa Njundiyimun (Nat. Forestry School - Mbalmayo), Charles Assam (Univ. of Dschang), Dr. Claude Tatuebu Tagne (IITA), Jordan Mbe (Nat. Forestry School - Mbalmayo), Alysson Bery (IBAY-SUP), Benedicta Ningying (Univ. of Bamenda), Wesner Epie (UC-Irvine), and Serge Assola (CBI) to conduct household surveys and delineated farms in 32 villages all around the Dja Faunal Reserve in South East Cameroon. Over the course of two and half months between July and September 2024, the team was able to conduct 313 surveys and delineate more than 700 fields. The surveys included questions about land-use change, conservation and livelihood projects, non-timber forest products, and ecosystem services. The data will be analyzed to understand what factors drive small-scale land-use change in communities around the Dja Reserve. The results will then be combined with land-use change maps being developed at a regional scale from 2000-2024 as part of the same project to link drivers of land-use change at a local scale with regional patterns of change. Read More
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Clark University Students Enhance Careers Through NASA LCLUC Project | |
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Fulbright Fellowships Awarded Through CARIN Engagement
Engagement with CARIN yields two Fulbright Fellowships! Two early career scientists from Central Asia were awarded Fulbright Fellowships in 2024. Dr. Eldiiar Duulatov from the Institute of Geology, Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic, was recognized by the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program with an award to work at the Center for Global Change and Earth Observations, Michigan State University, with Prof. Geoff Henebry on a project entitled “Assessing of Susceptibility and Exposure to Multiple Natural Hazards in Kyrgyzstan”. Dr. Baktybek Duisebek, from the Kazakh-British Technical University, was recognized by the Fulbright Outreach Lecturing Fund with an award to work at Colorado State University with Prof. Dennis Ojima and Dr. Gabriel Senay (USGS) on a project entitled “Using Satellite-Based Monitoring System to Assess the Crop Water Use Across Ili River, Kazakhstan”. Dr. Duisebek was earlier selected to participate in fall 2023 in the CARIN Early Career Scientist program where he met Dr. Senay, who was providing scientific and technical training as part of the ECS program.
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- Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology Find More | |
- Commercial Satellite Data Earth Science Research and Applications Find More | |
- Earth Action: Ecological Conservation Find More | |
- Rapid Response and Novel Research in Earth Science Find More | |
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Applications of Trajectory Analysis to Describe Changes in a Time Series of Maps , MDPI Land - Deadline 31 July 2025
The Land journal by MDPI has introduced a special issue titled "Applications of Trajectory Analysis to Describe Changes in a Time Series of Maps." This edition focuses on innovative methods for analyzing temporal changes in mapped data, offering insights into land use dynamics and environmental monitoring. Researchers are invited to submit manuscripts that explore these analytical techniques and their applications. Read more
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Focus on Land Use Cover Changes and Synthesis in South and South East Asia, Environmental Research Letters - Deadline 31 October 2025
This special issue invites interdisciplinary research synthesizing existing literature, datasets, and methodologies to address key questions around forestry, agriculture, urbanization, coastal changes, and land-atmospheric interactions in the region. Articles should highlight trends, drivers, impacts, and future trajectories of LUCC, offering integrative insights from fields such as ecology, geography, sociology, economics, and policy analysis. Emphasis is placed on translating quantitative findings into actionable recommendations for policymakers and stakeholders to support sustainable land management and conservation in a changing climate, while addressing knowledge gaps, informing policy, and guiding future research for resilient land-use strategies. Read More
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Advanced remote sensing methods for monitoring and analyzing impacts of natural disasters on land-cover & land-use, Recent Advances - Deadline 31 December 2026
This Special Issue is devoted to the cutting-edge field of advanced remote sensing methods applied to monitor and analyze the intricate impacts of natural disasters on land cover and land use processes. In an era marked by an increasing severity of disasters, such as hurricanes, floods, wildfires, extreme droughts, and landslides, leveraging technological advancements becomes paramount in understanding, assessing, and responding to the dynamic changes in terrestrial ecosystems. The published papers would promote innovative remote sensing techniques, including satellite passive optical and infrared imagery, including hyperspectral, as well as active remote sensing by lidars and radars. These methods offer a comprehensive view of the immediate and long-term effects of natural disasters, using the visible spectrum and beyond to assess alterations in vegetation health, soil composition, built infrastructure and topographical features. The research papers will not only investigate the physical transformations of land cover caused by natural disasters but also delve into the secondary consequences, such as habitat loss, altered hydrological patterns, and changes in land-use practices. Read more
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Remote Sensing of Land Cover Change, Degradation, and Impacts on Environment in South/Southeast Asia, MDPI Remote Sensing - Deadline 31 March 2025
This special issue focuses on land-cover change (LCC) and degradation in South and Southeast Asia, driven by factors such as population growth, economic development, inappropriate land-use practices, and government policies. The impacts of LCC include disruption of biogeochemical cycles, environmental imbalances, and climate variability. The issue will highlight the critical role of remote sensing for mapping, monitoring, and assessing LCC and degradation using optical, multispectral, hyperspectral, LIDAR, and thermal IR observations from satellites and airborne platforms, along with ground-based measurements. Articles can focus on LCC and degradation mapping in diverse environments, such as forests, farmlands, urban areas, woodlands, mountains, and wetlands. They may also address associated impacts on greenhouse gas emissions, nutrient loss, and air, water, and soil pollution. Submissions exploring spatio-temporal data mining, data fusion, modeling, and analysis of LCC, degradation, and impact assessment are highly encouraged. Read More
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Recent and Upcoming Meetings | |
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A New Global Mangrove Height Map with a 12 meter spatial resolution
Marc Simard, Lola Fatoyinbo, Nathan M. Thomas, Atticus E. Stovall, Adriana Parra, Abigail Barenblitt, Pete Bunting & Irena Hajnsek, Scientific Data volume 12, Article number: 15 (2025) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-04213-z
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Mangrove forests thrive along global tropical coasts, acting as a barrier that protects coastlines against storm surges and as nurseries for an entire food web. They are also known for their high carbon sequestration rates and soil carbon stocks. We introduce a new global mangrove canopy height map generated from TanDEM-X spaceborne elevation measurements collected during the 2011–2013 period with a 12-meter spatial resolution and an accuracy of 2.4 meters (RMSE). Height was calibrated and validated using GEDI mission data and independently verified with airborne Lidar. The tallest mangrove stands reach nearly 60 meters in Colombia and Gabon, and potentially other countries. The map captures a broader range of canopy heights with finer spatial details than other available global products that use optical imagery. This new global mangrove height dataset can aid in evaluating mangrove ecosystem services at local and regional scales, improving our understanding of factors controlling mangrove structure, and supporting conservation, climate mitigation and adaptation strategies.
Read more
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Effects of Land Use Data Spatial Resolution on SDG Indicator 11.3.1 (Urban Expansion) Assessments: A Case Study Across Ethiopia
Orion S. E. Cardenas-Ritzert, Jody C. Vogeler, Shahriar Shah Heydari, Patrick A. Fekety ,Melinda Laituri and Melissa R. McHale, Sustainability 2024, 16(22), 9698; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16229698
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 | | This work examines the effect of land use data spatial resolution on SDG Indicator 11.3.1 assessment components including urban area delineation, SDG Indicator 11.3.1 and supporting spatial metrics, spatial patterns of urban land development, and land use change patterns for urbanizing areas in Ethiopia from 2016 to 2020. A comparison was made between a single land use map at the spatial resolution in which it was originally produced, 30 m, and at a majority-resampled spatial resolution comparable to many global coverage datasets, 90 m. Analyses revealed changes in the urban areas identified, observed boundaries of urban areas, and all quantified metrics from 30 m resolution to 90 m resolution, with the decrease in resolution resulting in smaller urban areas being missed and differences in the delineated hinterland areas connected to an urban core. Statistical testing indicated significant differences in SDG Indicator 11.3.1 values, developed land use area per capita, and spatial patterns of urban development between the two spatial resolutions. The relative order of land use conversion types remained similar across both resolutions, with agricultural land experiencing the greatest conversion to developed land, followed by rangeland and forest, although the total area of each conversion type differed. This study illustrates the possible discrepancies in SDG Indicator 11.3.1 and related outputs when utilizing differing resolution datasets and the importance of data characteristic consideration when conducting SDG Indicator 11.3.1 assessments. Read more
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Canopy height estimation from PlanetScope time series with
spatio-temporal deep learning
Dan J. Dixon, Yunzhe Zhu, Yufang Jin Remote Sensing of Environment,
Volume 318, 1 March 2025, 114518 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2024.114518
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Highlights
-- A 3 × 3 m canopy height estimation workflow is developed combining optical and radar satellite data.
-- A semi-automatic workflow generates labels from aerial lidar and NAIP imagery.
-- A 3D convolutional neural network extracts spatio-temporal features from PlanetScope time series.
-- Scalability and robustness are demonstrated across California’s diverse ecoregions.
-- The model and data support annual high resolution forest structure assessment.
Read more
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Frozen no more, a case study of Arctic permafrost impacts
of oil and gas withdrawal
Kimberley Miner, Latha Baskaran, Bradley Gay, Daniel Sousa & Charles Miller,
Scientific Reports volume 14, Article number: 25403 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-76292-2
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Approximately 8100 km2 of Alaska are leased to the oil and gas industry for exploration and extraction. According to industry estimates, subsurface expansion from these leases could cover up to 130.2 km2 per pad. As industrial oil extraction activities increase across the thawing Alaskan permafrost, impacts on the permafrost environment will include rapid thaw, increased hydrological flux, and the release of climate warming greenhouse gases. Here, we use remote sensing and field observations to provide a first-order comparison of the direct impacts to the permafrost tundra from oil well pads, and the long-term consequences of a legacy oil pads on the warming North Slope of Alaska. We find that oil well pads on the permafrost accelerate permafrost degradation and persist despite remediation. Read More | |
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Snow-cover seasonality in Kyrgyzstan: variation and change over 20 years (2001–2021) as observed by the MODIS Terra snow product
Geoffrey M Henebry* and Monika A Tomaszewska, Environmental Research Letters,
Volume 20, Number 2 , DOI 10.1088/1748-9326/ad9c98
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| | | Snow seasonality is expected to change as a result of planetary warming. Yet, how the timings of snow seasons have already shifted in mountain environments can be counterintuitive. Here, we update our 2018 analyses of snow seasonality in Kyrgyzstan (KG) using more data and improved methods. Using two decades of MODIS snow-cover data, we investigated trends in four snow seasonality metrics: first date of snow (FDoS); last date of snow (LDoS); duration of the snow season (DoSS); and snow-covered days (SCDs). Our novel but conservative nonparametric approach analyzed trends within elevation ranges at two administrative levels: oblast and rayon. To attenuate the risk of false-positive trends, we reported as 'notable' only those significant (p < 0.05) nonparametric trends that were also (i) strongly asymmetric (at least twice as many significant pixels in one direction) within an elevational range of the oblast or rayon and (ii) covering at least 5% of the elevation range in oblast or rayon and more than 10 pixels. We used both simple and advanced snow-cover metrics, with the latter exploiting the within-composite chronobyte detail available in the MOD10A2.061 product. We found notable trends to earlier FDoS below 3000 m in western KG and more SCD between 1500–3500 m in western KG. We also found the expected notable trends towards earlier LDoS at both oblast and rayon levels. In northwestern KG, DoSS was notably longer <3000 m, but notably shorter at 3500–4000 m. In our 2018 analyses, we found at the national level 160% more area trending to earlier FDoS than to earlier LDoS. Our comprehensive updated trend analysis was designed to be more conservative. It revealed more area (106%–130%) trending to earlier FDoS than earlier LDoS, reinforcing the counterintuitive finding of longer snow seasons starting earlier at lower elevations. Read more
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