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Table of Contents | Background
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Spatially Integrated Social Science: Chapter 2
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Inferring the Behavior
of Households from Remotely Sensed Changes in Land Cover:
Current Methods and Future Directions
Bruce
Boucek and Emilio
F. Moran
Abstract
Research on land use and land cover change relating to landscape
ecology, deforestation, desertification, and, more recently,
links between climate change and health, frequently focuses
on meso- and macro-scales where the spatial resolution is
global, regional, or macro-regional. In this paper authors
review efforts to empirically and spatially examine processes
taking place at micro-scale (e.g., the household), discuss
methods used under different conditions of settlement pattern,
contributions to theory-building offered by these methods,
and methodological advances in examining households, families,
and other small social units. The micro-scale analyses reviewed
here include three different settings that pose contrasting
problems to the use of spatially-explicit methods: 1) urban
areas; 2) rural areas wherein people live in villages and
commute to their landholdings; and 3) rural areas wherein
people reside on the land they use. The most detailed discussion
concerns the conceptual, methodological, and empirical findings
of our research group in the Brazilian Amazon. In this work
we have linked demographic, social survey research, Landsat
time series satellite data, and aerial photography, to construct
a temporally and spatially fine-grained analysis of changes
in land cover at both landscape and individual property scales
so as to achieve inferences about the behavior of households.
We conclude with a discussion of the distinct challenges and
problems posed by conducting household scale land use and
land cover change research in various settings. Methodological,
technological, and theoretical advances are also presented
that will enhance our ability to engage in such analyses,
as well as broaden the range of theories and questions that
are possible to address.
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