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Activity Number:
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532
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Type:
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Contributed
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Date/Time:
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Wednesday, August 5, 2009 : 2:00 PM to 3:50 PM
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Sponsor:
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Section on Statistics and the Environment
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| Abstract - #304157 |
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Title:
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Locating Changes in Land Use from Long-Term Remote Sensing Data in Morocco
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Author(s):
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Maliha S. Nash*+ and Deborah J. Chaloud and William Kepner
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Companies:
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
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Address:
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944 E. Harmon, Las Vegas, NV, 89119,
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Keywords:
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NDVI ; changes in NDVI ; Morocco ; regression ; scale
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Abstract:
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We present a method that allow mapping changes in vegetation cover over large areas quickly and inexpensively, thus providing policy makers with the capability to locate and assess areas undergoing environmental change, thus improving their ability to positively respond or adapt to change. Using Morocco in the southern Mediterranean Region as an example, changes in vegetation cover were assessed over a 23-year period using 8-km Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data. A regression model of NDVI over time was developed to identify long-term trends in vegetation cover for each pixel in the study area. Results were mapped and patches of decreasing or increasing vegetation cover were identified. Our analyses offer results that can be mapped at different scales (locally and regionally) and can be used to assess trends both over time and space.
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