Assessing Microscale Environmental Changes: CORINE Vs. The Urban Atlas

Abstract

Applying geostatistical approaches to spatial data is a common method for assessing the transitional dynamics of land cover and use changes induced by human activities. However, the relevance of results depends largely on the quality of data. CORINE data have showed their utility in assessing long term changes at the macro-scale, but their use at the micro-scale is impeded by the spatial resolution and changes in the methodology of obtaining them. Recently, new data from the Urban Atlas were provided at a greater resolution for urban areas. In an attempt to assess their potential for analyzing transitional dynamics at the micro-scale, this paper compared the two data sets using the case study of Bucharest. The results indicate that the Urban Atlas does a better job in surprising the fragmentation of land in urban areas, and providing the real extent of specific features diminished by CORINE.

Keywords

• global change
• land cover and use changes
• Bucharest
• homogeneity
• geostatistical approaches