Mapping and Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Land-use and Land-cover Change Based on the USGS and NASA Platforms from MCD12Q1 Landsat Imagery: A Case Study of Kinshasa, DR Congo

Abstract

Kinshasa is a city with very significant urban growth. It is observed that this urban growth is concentrated in a weak area, which requires control and direction of urban expansion. To do this, it is important to understand the dynamics of cover change and land use over time. To do this, we downloaded Landsat images from the MODIS Land Cover Type Product (MCD12Q1) with a classification of these images based on remote sensing indices that we processed using geographic information system tools. We extracted the following classes: Evergreen Broadleaf Forests, Deciduous Broadleaf Forests, Mixed Forests, Closed Shrublands, Woody Savannas, Savannas, Grasslands, Permanent Wetlands, Croplands, Urban and Built-up Lands, Cropland/Natural Vegetation Mosaics, Barren and Water Bodies. We calculated the percentage of class coverage by studying the relationship between the evolution curves of these classes. It has been observed that certain classes vary depending on others over time.