Mapbiomas: How to Create Robust Land Use and Cover Maps for a Vast Territory

The FIU GIS Center invites all Maptimes to attend an interesting presentation/workshop hosted by Dr. Ane Alencar, Director of Science at the Amazon Environmental Research Institute.

Abstract
Mapbiomas is a multi-institutional initiative involving universities, NGOs and technology companies that got together to produce the first annual land use and cover time series maps of all Brazil for the past 34 years. This initiative relies on the use of cloud computing and Google Earth Engine with the best machine learning algorithms and processing technologies available to create this network processing effort. This course will showcase how Mapbiomas was created and how it can be used. A hands on workshop to explore the platform and learn how to download the data will also be given.

About Dr. Alencar
Ane Alencar is a geographer with a Master's degree in Environmental Remote Sensing and GIS from Boston University and PhD in Forest Resources and Conservation from University of Florida. For the past 24 years she has been working on conservation related issues at the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM). She is currently the Director of Science at IPAM and coordinator of the GIS lab at the institute. Her work experience includes improving understanding of spatial patterns and extent of fire, deforestation and land use changes in Brazilian Amazon promoted by road infra-structure and climate change. She is also part of the team of biome coordinators of Mapbiomas initiative coordinating the land use change monitoring efforts of Cerrado Biome and the coordinator of the Land use and cover change sector of SEEG.

Themes:

1. What is Mapbiomas?
2. How to create land use and cover maps in network
3. Hands on work on how to explore Mapbiomas platform and download the data

Participants are encouraged to bring their own laptops for the hand-on exercise. Space is limited, please RSVP here or email Levente (ljuhasz [at] fiu [dot] edu).