MAPPING TROPICAL LAND USE FROM MULTI-SENSOR IMAGERY 
Jonathan H. Smith and Roy A. Welch 
Center for Remote Sensing and Mapping Science 
Department of Geography 
University of Georgia 
Athens GA 30602 USA 
Commission IV, Working Group 1 
KEY WORDS: Mapping, Land_Use, Change_Detection, Landsat, GPS, GIS Database 
ABSTRACT: 
Landsat multispectral scanner (MSS) and thematic mapper (TM) satellite images of the remote, rugged BOSAWAS 
Reserve of northern Nicaragua were employed to map land cover/use for 1986 and 1995, and to assess the changes that 
have occurred between these dates. Supervised methods permitted five land cover/use categories to be classified from 
the digital satellite images. The boundaries of these thematic classes were then delineated using on-screen digitizing 
techniques to create vector coverages. In addition to land cover/use, the hydrography, transportation networks, 
population centers and boundaries of indigenous claims were digitized from existing maps, and incorporated into a 
vector format geographic information system (GIS) database. The coverages for the two dates were then placed in 
register to identify land cover/use changes for the period 1986-1995. Analyses to date reveal that encroachment and 
deforestation is occurring in the southern and western portions of the Reserve. The database and thematic maps will be 
provided to the Nicaraguan government to serve as a foundation for the management of the BOSAWAS Reserve. 
1. INTRODUCTION 
Current maps and land cover/use data in digital format 
are needed to establish a land resource management 
plan for the BOSAWAS Reserve in northern 
Nicaragua. Such a plan is required to insure the 
preservation of large stands of native tropical forest 
threatened by exploitation, provide a basis for 
sustainable economic development and protect the 
territorial integrity of the indigenous population in 
the two million hectare Reserve (Bowermaster 1995). 
Because of the size of the land area and its 
inaccessibility, satellite images recorded since 1986 
are being used to construct the land cover/use maps 
and an associated digital database compatible with the 
ESRI ARC/INFO geographic information system 
(GIS) software package. 
The BOSAWAS Reserve was established in 1991, 
shortly after the conclusion of a civil war that 
precluded economic development during the 1980's 
(Nietschmann 1990). It derives its name from the 
Bocay River, Saslaya Mountain and Waspuk River. 
The Reserve is the headwaters for the Prinzapolka and 
Coco Rivers. The latter separates the Reserve from 
Honduras to the north. 
BOSAWAS is occupied by two indigenous groups, 
the Miskito and Mayagna and more recently by 
mestizo settlers who, with the coming of peace in 
1990, have begun to occupy land along the southern 
edge of the Reserve and along rivers extending into 
the interior. As a consequence of its remoteness, 
native populations and recent influx of settlers, land 
tenure is in disarray. Consequently, with the 
establishment of the Reserve, the Nicaraguan 
government hopes to exert some control over 
BOSAWAS, and to establish zones appropriate for 
such diverse activities as settlement, tourism, forestry, 
agriculture, mining, and subsistence hunting and 
gathering. It is anticipated that land cover/use maps 
and a GIS database will permit the delineation and 
assessment of land areas where conflicts over land 
ownership/tenure have arisen, or are likely to occur in 
the years ahead. At this time, a major concern is the 
extent of deforestation over the last five to ten years. 
METHODOLOGY 
2.1 Information Sources 
Problems with cloud cover have limited the initial 
selection of satellite images to two Landsat MSS 
images and a single Landsat TM image acquired in 
early 1986, and to a single Landsat TM image 
acquired in January 1995. The latter image covers 
approximately two-thirds of the study area and suffers 
from approximately 35 percent cloud cover. Attempts 
to acquire additional images via EOSAT, SPOT 
Image Corporation, and RESTEC Japan have met 
with failure because of cloud cover. Synthetic 
aperture radar (SAR) images acquired by the ERS-1, 
-2 and Radarsat programs have been investigated, but 
spatial resolution is insufficient for thematic 
classification of land cover/use. At present SPOT 
International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXI, Part B4. Vienna 1996