A Theoretical Study on Land Cover Classification - Focused on Natural Environment Management -

토지피복분류에 관한 이론적 연구 - 자연환경관리를 중심으로 -

Land cover classification is an essential basic information in natural environment management; however, land cover classification studies in Korea have not yet been proceeded to a sufficient level. At the present, only a limited number of the precedent studies that only cover definite city area has been conducted. Furthermore, there is almost no research conducted on the land cover classification schemes that could accurately classify the Korea's land cover conditions. This study primarily focuses on the land cover classification scheme which carries the most urgent priority in order to classify and to map out the Korean land cover conditions. In order to develop the most suitable land cover classification scheme, many foreign land cover classification cases and projects that are being carried out were reviewed in depth. The land cover classification scheme this study proposes comprises 3 levels : The first level consists of 7 different classes; the second level consists of 22 different classes; and the third level is made up of 50 classes. The land cover classification map will serve many important roles in natural environment management, such as the conjecture of natural habitats and estimation of oxygen production or carbon dioxide absorption capability of a forest. In water pollution modelling, the land cover classification data can be used to estimate and locate non-point sources of water pollution. If applied to a watershed, modelling it will allow to estimate the total amount of pollution from non-point sources of pollution in the water shed. The land cover classification data will also be good as a barometer data that determines defusion of air pollutants in air pollution modelling.