Application of KOMSAT-2 Imageries for Change Detection of Land use and Land Cover in the West Coasts of the Korean Peninsula

Reliable assessment of Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) changes greatly improves many practical issues in hydrography, socio-geographical research such as the observation of erosion and accretion, coastal monitoring, ecological effects evaluation. Remote sensing imageries can offer the outstanding capability to monitor nature and extent of land and associated changes over time. Nowadays accurate analysis using remote sensing imageries with high spatio-temporal resolution is required for environmental monitoring. This study develops a methodology of mapping and change detection in LULC by using classified Korea Multi-Purpose Satellite-2 (KOMPSAT-2) multispectral imageries at Jeonbuk and Jeonnam provinces including protected tidal flats located in the west coasts of Korean peninsula from 2008 to 2015. The LULC maps generated from unsupervised classification were analyzed and evaluated by post-classification change detection methods. The LULC assessment in Jeonbuk and Jeonnam areas had not showed significant changes over time although developed area was gradually increased only by 1.97% and 4.34% at both areas respectively. Overall, the results of this study quantify the land cover change patterns through pixel based analysis which demonstrate the potential of multispectral KOMPSAT-2 images to provide effective and economical LULC maps in the coastal zone over time. This LULC information would be of great interest to the environmental and policy mangers for the better coastal management and political decisions.