Land-cover

Lead Author: Erle Ellis (other articles)

Article Topics: Land-use and land-cover change and Geography

This article has been reviewed and approved by the following Topic Editor: Robert Pontius (other articles)

Last Updated: April 14, 2009

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

Ellis, Erle (Lead Author); Robert Pontius (Topic Editor). 2009. "Land-cover." In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). [Published in the Encyclopedia of Earth April 14, 2009; Retrieved November 20, 2009]. <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Land-cover>

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