Land use and land cover (LULC) is a core integrative topic in environmental and geographic research that distinguishes between the biophysical state of the Earth’s surface (land cover) and the human purposes or activities applied to that surface (land use). Scientifically, LULC analysis relies heavily on remote sensing, GIS, and classification schemes (e.g., distinguishing forest, cropland, urban, wetlands) to quantify spatial patterns and temporal dynamics. It is central to studying ecosystem processes, carbon and water cycles, biodiversity, and anthropogenic impacts, and underpins models of climate change, land degradation, habitat fragmentation, and sustainable spatial planning.
On Prince of Wales Island, Alaska, gray wolves are doing something unexpected: hunting sea otters. This surprising dietary shift appears to have notable implications for both ecosystems and wolf health, but little is known ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 23, 2025
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Accurate land cover mapping underpins biodiversity protection, climate adaptation, and sustainable land use. Despite advances in remote sensing, satellite-only approaches remain limited by cloud cover, revisit intervals, ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 17, 2025
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42
Land use and land cover (LULC) information underpins studies in climate science, disaster management, food security, and ecosystem protection. Advances in satellite imaging have improved resolution, but high-resolution land ...
Environment
Oct 17, 2025
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32
Scientists can now receive near-real-time alerts about the world's lands as their surfaces change, thanks to a new satellite-based monitoring system described today in Nature Communications.
Earth Sciences
Oct 8, 2025
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47
South Africa's Eastern Cape province has several million hectares of open land in rural areas, not privately owned but held in trust by the state on behalf of communities. The people who live there use it mainly for grazing ...
Ecology
Sep 17, 2025
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24
Newly released, first-of-its-kind agriculture maps of the state of Hawaiʻi are expected to help policymakers, land managers and researchers better monitor crop diversity, evaluate land-use change and design programs that ...
Biotechnology
Sep 15, 2025
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27
Tracking human behavioral patterns in cities can be used to determine urban delineations and urban land use, which has the potential to improve urban planning.
Environment
Sep 4, 2025
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18
To protect biodiversity, a meta-analysis finds that agriculture should use a combination of biodiversity-friendly approaches and protected areas. For decades, scientists have debated how agriculture can both feed the world ...
Ecology
Sep 2, 2025
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20
Healthy rangelands are essential for ensuring grazing and forage productivity, reducing wind erosion and wildfire risks, and supporting wildlife ecosystems. Covering about 30% of the United States' land, these vast areas ...
Biotechnology
Aug 26, 2025
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30
A new study has uncovered a surprising and concerning paradox: although Earth's vegetation cover has expanded dramatically over the past four decades, this widespread "greening" trend is often associated with a decline in ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 25, 2025
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