Enhancing the SDG 15.3.1 land-cover transition matrix using multidecadal vegetation indicators
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22428073 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Calogero Schillaci (0000-0001-7689-5697, European Commission, corresponding author), Felipe Yunta (0000-0002-7053-9760, European Commission), Simone Scarpa (0000-0002-8532-1019, European Dynamics (Greece)), Piotr Wojda (European Commission), Diana Vieira (0000-0003-2213-3798, European Commission), Panos Panagos (0000-0003-1484-2738, European Commission), Antonio Pulina (0000-0002-2220-0922, University of Sassari), Arwyn Jones (0000-0002-8552-6137, European Commission) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 163-183 |
| Publication date | 2026-12-31 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Land Use Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1747-423X • E-ISSN: 1747-4248 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/1747423x.2026.2638216 |
| OpenAlex | W7134942916 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 36 |
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15.3.1, ‘Proportion of degraded land,’ assesses land degradation using three core sub-indicators: land productivity, land cover (LC), and soil organic carbon. The LC sub-indicator evaluates global trends through a transition matrix defined in the UNCCD Good Practice Guidance (GPG), classifying land cover changes as degradation, improvement, or stability. However, this approach does not capture intra-class transitions (e.g. changes occurring within the same LC class), potentially overlooking relevant degradation or improvement processes. To address this limitation, we expanded the original 7-class transition matrix by incorporating 44 CORINE Land Cover (CLC) detailed level-three classes, integrating biophysically weighted MODIS NDVI data (2000–2018). This enhanced framework enabled the detection of intra-class changes amounting to 1.06% (artificial), 0.96% (agricultural), 7.32% (natural), and 0.03% (wetland/water bodies). Notably, within the natural class (CLC 3) 8.53% of the area exhibited improvement, 14.9% degradation, and 76.5% stability.The workflow of the analysis using the 44 CORINE CLC detailed level-three classes for the year 2000 and 2018, the monthly NDVI were obtained from Google Earth engine (GEE) and cumulative averages computed, a percentile raking was then used quartiles to split the distribution into four equal parts (25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) to reduce the number of CLC detailed level-three classes into a LC type. The ranking of the LC types was taken from the good Practice guidance (GPGs).
Climate change · Land use · Normalized Difference Vegetation Index · Land Use and Ecosystem Services · Remote Sensing in Agriculture · Scientific Research and Studies
Spatial variation in determinants of agricultural land abandonment in Europe
Overview of the radiometric and biophysical performance of the Modis vegetation indices
Greenness in semi-arid areas across the globe 1981–2007 — an Earth Observing Satellite based analysis of trends and drivers
Evaluation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 15.3.1 indicator of land degradation in the European Union
Determination of Land Degradation in Romania at a Local Scale Using Advanced Analytical Techniques
Towards SDG 15.3
Developing good practice guidance for estimating land degradation in the context of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |