Urban expansión of the Valencia Metropolitan Area during the period 1984-2011 from Landsat TM and ETM+ imagery

Abstract

The accelerated urban expansion produced in large metropolitan areas such as Valencia Metropolitan Area in recent decades has important environmental impacts including “soil sealing” and the loss of valuable natural areas. The aim of this paper is to analyze the evolution of artificial soil in the Metropolitan Area of Valencia (AMV) between 1984-2011 using Landsat TM and ETM+ images, that have been validated from SIOSE data with larger spatial resolution. Results point out, with an accuracy of 71%, that artificial surface raised in 8000 ha which represents an increase of 10% for sealing soil and 34% of the whole land covers of the AMV.

Keywords

• Urbanización
• Cobertura artificial
• Área Metropolitana de Valencia
• Landsat
• Clasificación digital
• Cambios usos del suelo
• SIOSE