While many studies have completed accuracy assessments on the National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD), little research has utilized a detailed digitized land cover dataset, like that available for the Town of Blacksburg, for this comparison. This study aims to evaluate the information available from a detailed land cover dataset and compare it with the National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD) at a localized scale. More specifically, it utilizes the detailed land cover dataset for the Town of Blacksburg to analyze the land cover distribution for varying land uses including single-family residential, multi-family residential, and non-residential. In addition, an application scenario assigns an area-weighted curve number to watersheds based on each land cover dataset. This study exhibits the importance of obtaining detailed land cover datasets for cities and towns. Furthermore, it shows the comprehensive information and subsequent quantifications that can be surmised from a detailed land cover dataset. / Master of Science

The forests of the eastern United States reflect complex and highly dynamic patterns of change. This thesis seeks to explore the highly variable nature of these changes and to develop techniques that will enable researchers to examine their temporal and spatial patterns. The objectives of this research are to: 1) determine whether the forest change dynamics in the eastern US differ across levels of the urban hierarchy; 2) identify and explore key micropolitan areas that deviate from anticipated trends in forest change; and 3) develop and apply techniques for Big Data exploration of Landsat satellite images for forest cover analysis over large regions. Results demonstrate that forest change at the micropolitan level of urbanization differs from rural and metropolitan forest dynamics. The work highlights the dynamic nature of forest change within the Piedmont Atlantic megaregion, largely attributed to the forestry industry. This is by far the most dominant change phenomenon in the region but is not necessarily indicative of permanent forest change. A longer temporal analysis may be required to separate the contribution of the forest industry from permanent forest conversion in the region. Techniques utilized in this work suggest that emerging tools that provide supercomputing/parallel processing capabilities for the analysis of big satellite data open the door for researchers to better address different landscape signals and to investigate large regions at a high temporal and spatial resolution. The opportunity now exists to conduct initial assessments regarding spatio-temporal land cover trends in the southeast in a manner previously not possible. / Master of Science

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