ABSTRACT
Growing public awareness about satellite remote sensing can be attributed to the success of global geoportals that facilitate capturing of space-borne imagery from any place on the earth. Use of geoportals in land-cover mapping has made mapping an easy process. Moreover, technological advancements in mass computing, the ability to store and process large amounts of data, and global earth observation capabilities have opened the door to multiple initiatives in land-cover mapping on a global scale, and more can be expected in the near future. Land-cover maps may differ signi‡- cantly depending on the quality of the input data, the classi‡cation algorithm used to produce the maps, spatial resolution, and the legend used.
