The use of ALOS PALSAR imagery for Cerrado's land use and land cover mapping

In Brazil, land use and land cover (LULC) mappings are obtained mainly from optical images. Radar data are also promising since they are independent of solar illumination and the microwave radiation can penetrate clouds and depict differences in canopy structures. This study analyzed the potential of ALOS PALSAR data for LULC mapping of Federal District of Brazil (FD). L-band, HH-, HV- and VV-polarized amplitude images from the end of wet season were processed through the image segmentation technique by growing region. The segments were exported into a geographical information system software package as shapefile format and then visually interpreted in the computer screen. The following classes were discriminated: consolidate urban areas; urban areas in consolidation; natural grasslands; Cerrado shrubland; croplands; gallery forest; indiscriminated forests: pasturelands; reforestations; and water reservoirs. Cerrado shrubland was the most representative mapping class of the study area, followed by consolidated urban areas and natural grasslands.