DESERTIFICATION STUDIES USING REMOTE SENSING TECHNIQUES: A FRAMEWORK AND STATE-OF-THE-ART SURVEY

Abstract

A research was carried out to identify the methodologies that have been applied in the study of desertification as well as how often papers on this subject are being published. The Brazilian Symposium of Remote Sensing - BSRS and five international journals: Remote Sensing of Environment, Engineering Photogrammetric and Remote Sensing, International Journal of Remote Sensing, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, and International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation were chosen for the triage. Twenty four articles addressing desertification were found in BSRS. In the 2010 edition of this symposium, 10 papers in this theme were identified. Concerning to the analysis of magazines, 31 publications were recorded, and the largest number of publications also occurred in 2010, with five documents. The International Journal of Remote Sensing stood out, with 18 papers on desertification. It was noticed still a lack of publications in international journals concerning to the process of desertification itself. It must be emphasized that no publication on this matter was found on the Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing magazine. A broad range of innovative methodologies were identified, especially in the works published in magazines. One can see that the vegetation index (NDVI), either individually or as an ancillary information, was largely adopted. However, it was noted the lack of a multidisciplinary approach to study the process. Furthermore, it was revealed that both the study of desertification and the use of geo-technologies for this purpose is booming promising avenue.