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CHARACTERIZING LAND USE DYNAMICS IN AMAZON USING 
MULTI-TEMPORAL IMAGERY AND SEGMENTATION TECHNIQUES 
Diógenes S. Alves, Eliana M. Kalil, José C. Moreira, 
Jussara O. Ortiz, Joäo V. Soares, Osman Fernandez, Sérgio Almeida 
National Institute for Space Research (INPE) 
C.P. 515 - CEP 12201-970, Sáo José dos Campos, SP, BRAZIL 
e-mail: dalves@dpi.inpe.br 
Commission VII, WG 5 - Terrestrial Ecosystems Monitoring 
KEY WORDS: LAND_USE, CHANGE DETECTION, LANDSAT, TERRESTRIAL MONITORING 
ABSTRACT 
This paper presents a technique for characterizing changes in land cover and land use based on the use of multitemporal Landsat 
Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery and a segmentation algorithm for image classification. Preliminary results of the processing of two TM 
scenes covering an area of important deforestation in the Brazilian State of Rond6nia are discussed. The aims of this work are twofold: 
firstly, to develop a technique appropriate for detecting change in areas of the typical Rondónia "fish-bone" occupation, with a majority 
of small properties and some larger cattle-raising developments; secondly, to perform an analysis of land use dynamics in the region, 
with special emphasis on the characterization of areas of secondary vegetation. 
RÉSUMÉ 
Une technique pour la détection de changements de la végétation et de l'usage de la terre est presentée. Elle est basée sur l'utilisation de 
séries multitemporelles Landsat TM et d'un algorithme de segmentation d'images. Des résultats préliminaires obtenus pour deux 
passages TM dans l'État de Rondónia, dans l'Amazonie brésilienne, sont présentés; l'analyse de ces deux images a montré qu'une 
importante fraction des terres deboisées est abandonée, conduisant à la formation de régions de végétation secondaire. 
INTRODUCTION vegetation regrowth (see, for example, Lucas et al. 1993; Alves 
& Skole, 1996). Secondary forests play an important róle in 
Despite some progress in mapping deforestation in the tropics, diminishing the impacts of deforestation; beyond their role in 
human-induced land cover and land use changes and the impacts fixing atmospheric CO», these forests help recover soils and 
of such changes are still poorly understood. For instance, the net — nutrient cycling, and represent interest because of the usefulness 
emissions of greenhouse gases due to land use changes are oftheir species (Brown & Lugo 1990, Lisboa 1989). 
estimated with high levels of uncertainty (Schimel et al. 1995); 
the part of deforested land that is abandoned, leading to the 
growth of secondary vegetation and the formation of a carbon 
sink, is not known; neither are well known the diversity of 
species of the secondary vegetation and the potential of use of 
such areas. 
One of the areas that suffered significant changes in the last 
decades is the state of Rondónia, Western Brazilian Amazon. 
Total deforested area in this state increased from 4,200 km? in 
1978 to 34,600 km? in 1991 (INPE 1992). The average rate of 
deforestation during this period was of 2,340 km? . yr, the 
fourth highest state rate in Brazilian Amazonia, after the states of 
Satellite imagery has helped to improve the estimates of rates of — Pará (6,990 km? . yr), Mato Grosso (5,140 km? . yrl) and 
deforestation, particularly for the Brazilian Amazon (Tardin et al. Maranháo (2,450 km? . yrl) (INPE 1992). 
1980; INPE 1992; Alves et al. 1992; Skole and Tucker 1993). 
However, the role of forest regrowth as a carbon sink is still 
poorly quantified (Schimel et al. 1995), despite a number of 
studies that use remotely sensed data to assess secondary 
Pastures constitute the predominant type of land use in most of 
the State; according to FIBGE (1994), annual and perennial crops 
covered approximately 7,000 km? in the 1992/1993 period. Land 
development predominantly follows the typical Rondónia "fish- 
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International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXI, Part B7. Vienna 1996