ABSTRACT
The concept of European CoORdination of Information on the Environment (CORINE) Land Cover (CLC) mapping has been from the very beginning tightly linked to the use of satellite images as the fundamental input data (Heymann et al., 1994: 40). While during a feasibility study back in 1985 some alternative approaches for a LC inventory were tested (e.g., ground survey, aerial photographs), based on a cost-benefit analysis results, finally, an approach using high-resolution Earth observation satellite data were selected. The added value of the remote sensing approach is clear, as it provides a synoptic view of the Earth’s surface by capturing at once information for much larger areas than aerial survey data. In addition, passing regularly over the same area, the changes in land use/land cover (LU/LC) also can be periodically monitored. LC mapping using satellite imagery has a long tradition, and remote sensing image archives provide inputs for LC/LU, and its changes for a period of more than 45 years. Use of satellite data in the CLC context has benefited from previous activities, in particular stimulated by the US Landsat program, but also evolved in time as outlined in the following paragraphs.
