Multisensor mapping of land use/land cover pattern in mangrove ecosystems: a case study in Cần Giờ Biosphere Reserve, Vietnam.

A number of spectral responses captured by satellites can be adapted for a wide range of questions and applications relevant to Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) dynamic analysis. The multitude of existing and upcoming satellites can significantly advance the study of cause-effect relationships due to climate (i.e. natural) and human (i.e. anthropogenic) drivers. This interdisciplinary synthesis study aims at capturing the dynamics of the landscape in terms of fragmentation and connectivity from natural to built-up units and characterizing the continuum of ecosystem structures and functions in the rapidly changing area of the Cần Giờ Mangrove Biosphere Reserve in Vietnam. This study area of about 300,000 ha was sensed with different Earth Observation (EO) data: beside operational Sentinel 1 and Sentinel 2 data, a strip of three adjacent PRISMA images and two tiles of CosmoSkyMed images were acquired. To investigate the LULC dynamics, the satellite observations are extended with field measurements and synthesized through consolidated algorithms to examine six target zones: water surfaces (W), aquaculture ponds (A), natural (N) and seminatural vegetation (SN), urban and artificial areas (U) and soil-sediments presence areas (SS). Thematic mapping results are presented not only in terms of accuracy of class detection and investigated target zones, but also considering the landscape fragmentation to assess ecosystem services in the study area. Results show impacts of land use changes and subsequent feedback in ecosystem services such as food provision, recreational and biodiversity conservation.