Glossary
- Land cover
The term originally referred to the type of vegetation that covered the land surface, but has broadened subsequently to include human structures, such as buildings or pavement, and other aspects of the physical environment, such as soils, biodiversity, and surfaces and groundwater" (Moser, 1996).
- Land use
Land use concerns the function or purpose for which the land is used by the local human population and can be defined as the human activities which are directly related to land, making use of its resources or having an impact on them (FAO, 1995).
- Landsat
Any of various satellites used to gather data for images of the Earth's land surface and coastal regions. These satellites are equipped with sensors that respond to Earth-reflected sunlight and infrared radiation. The first Landsat satellite was launched in 1972. Currently, the seventh satellite (Landsat 7) is orbiting Earth.
- Net migration
Net migration rate is the difference of immigrants and emigrants of an area in a period of time, divided (usually) per 1,000 inhabitants (considered on midterm population).
- Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)
A satellite observation-derived value that is sensitive to vegetative growth, measured at 1.1 km (0.6 mile) spatial and 1 week temporal scales.
- Producer prices index
The producer prices index is measured the average annual change over time in the selling prices received by farmers. The selling prices is at the farm-gate or at the first point of sale.
- Proximate causes
Proximate causes are human activities or immediate actions at the local level, such as agricultural expansion, that originate from intended land use and directly impact forest cover.
- Remote sensing
Remote sensing is the action of collecting images or other forms of data about the surface of the Earth, from measurements made at some distance above the Earth, processing these data and analyzing them.
- Underlying factor
Underlying driving forces are fundamental social processes, such as human population dynamics or agricultural policies, that underpin the proximate causes and either operate at the local level or have an indirect impact from the national or global level.
