EO SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING OF A UNESCO BIOSPHERE RESERVE CASE STUDY OVER THE VOSGES DU NORD AND PFALZERWALD PARKS

摘要

This densely forested study area is comprised of sections of the Sauer and Lauter river valleys both of whom cross the Franco-German border from the Northern French Vosges to the German Palatinate mountains in which two parks are found, the Pare Naturel Regional des Vosges du Nord and the Pfalzerwald Natur Park parts of which have been classified as a Transfrontier Biosphere Reserve under the UNESCO "Man and the Biosphere" programme [4]. To evaluate the parks' socio-economic activities and natural heritage, the park administrations must understand past and present landuse and hence landuse dynamics over this vast area. With reduced agricultural activity, encroaching woodlands and scrub strewn landscapes are causing a phenomenon namely the closing-in of the landscape. Hence, with reduced inter-visibility, villages seem isolated and have experienced population decline. Satellite image derived landuse maps have been used to provide up-to-date landuse information and land use dynamics from the early 1960's.