ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing – Theme Issue

“Global Land Cover Mapping and Monitoring: Progress, Challenges, and opportunities”

Guest Editors:

Yifang Ban (KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden)

Peng Gong (University of California, Bekerley, USA & Tsinghua University, China)

Jun Chen (National Geomatics Center, China)

Chandra Giri (United States Geological Survey, USA)

Planned publication date: spring/summer 2014

Land cover is an important variable for many studies involving the earth surface: climatology, hydrology, soil erosion, atmospheric quality, conservation biology, and plant functioning. Timely and reliable information on global land cover and its changes plays an important role in the studies of the global environment and climate change. A large amount of research on global land cover mapping has been carried out and many new studies are underway. The theme issue intends to bring together a volume of high quality research papers on the current situation in terms of progresses, challenges, and opportunities on the mapping and monitoring of global land cover conditions at various scales, particularly at 30 m resolution. In addition, innovative applications of global land cover data products will also be considered. Submissions on the following topics are invited:

· Improved global land cover mapping using fine-resolution data

· Global land cover change detection and identification of rates, patterns, causes, and consequences

· Validation of global land cover datasets

· Cutting-edge technological issues related to global land cover mapping and monitoring, such as the utilization of new sensor data, longer and denser time-series data, fusion of data from multiple sources, advanced classification and change detection algorithms and high performance/cloud computing.

· Comparison and assimilation of multi-resolution, multi-source of global land cover data products

· Visualization in support of new discoveries from global land cover datasets

· Applications of global land cover datasets to disaster prevention, food security, global health, climate change, carbon science, water resource and ecosystem management, biodiversity, renewable energy, environmental protection and other relevant fields

Papers must be original contributions, not previously published or submitted to other journals. Papers published or submitted for publication in conference proceedings may be considered provided that they are considerably extended and improved. Substantive research, relevant-for-practice papers, as well as in depth reviews will be preferred. Papers must follow the instructions for authors at http://www.elsevier.com/journals/isprs-journal-of-photogrammetry-and-remote-sensing/0924-2716/guide-for-authors.

Please submit the full manuscript to http://ees.elsevier.com/photo before 30 June 2013.

Professor Yifang Ban Geoinformatics Department of Urban Planning and Environment KTH Royal Institute of Technology SE-10044 Stockholm, Sweden yifang@kth.se

Professor Jun Chen National Geomatics Ceter of China(NGCC) 28 Lianhuachi West Road, Beijing, 100830, China chenjun@nsdi.gov.cn

Professor Peng Gong Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management University of California, Berkeley, and Center for Earth System Science Tsinghua University 137 Mulford Hall, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3114 USA penggong@ Berkeley.edu

Dr. Chandra Giri Research Physical Scientist USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center Sioux Falls, SD, 57198, USA cgiri@usgs.gov