Land Use/Land Cover Assessment over Time Using a New Weighted Environmental Index (WEI) Based on an Object-Oriented Model and GIS Data

Abstract

For the first time, this paper introduces and describes a new Weighted Environmental Index (WEI) based on object-oriented models and GIS data. The index has been designed to integrate all the available information from extensive and detailed GIS databases. After the conceptual definition of the index has been justified, two applications for the regional and local scales of the WEI are shown. The applications analyze the evolution over time of the environmental value from land-use change for two different case studies in Spain: the Valencian Region and the L’Alcora municipality. Data have been obtained from the Spanish Land Occupation Information System (SIOSE) public database and integrate GIS information about land use/land cover on an extensive, high-detailed scale. Results demonstrate the application of the WEI to real case studies and the importance of integrating statistical analysis of WEI evolution over time to arrive at a better understanding of the socio-economic and environmental processes that induce land-use change.