Integrated Analysis of Landscape Spatial Organization for Watershed Management

Jerzy Chmiel

Warsaw University of Technology, Poland

For many environmental applications there is a growing need to have more accurate data about the land cover and the distribution of certain category and phenomena in the studied area. A proper description and understanding of the influence of landscape structure is critical for effective land-use management and environmental policy making.

Remote Sensing is considered as a useful source of such data. For complex, hilly lake-land landscape a traditional approach to remotely sensed data processing is replaced by more advanced methodology integrating spectral (Landsat TM and SPOT) and thematic data (like soils, DEM).

Neural network and knowledge based methods with a more holistic view are applied to landscape objects discrimination and delineation. It gives the base for further analyses and creating a lanscape spatial evaluation and necessary descriptors of watershed area.

Presented description of landscape spatial organization has a qualified as well as quantified character and emphasized some hydrological and ecological aspects important in the policy-making of basin level water management.