Spatiotemporal prediction applying fuzzy logic in a sequence of satellite images

Spatial evolutions of anthropized ecosystems and the progressive transformation of spaces in the course of time emerge more and more as a special interest issue in researches about the environment. This evolution constitutes one of the major concerns in the domain of environmental space management. The landscape evolution of a region area and the perspectives for a future state rises an issue particularly important. What will be the state of the region in 15, 30 or 50 years? Time can produce transformations over a region area like emergence, disappearance or union of spatial entities... These transformations are called temporal phenomena. We propose to predict the forestry evolution in the forthcoming years on an experimental area, which reveals these spatial transformations. The proposed method is based on the analysis of terrain landscape given a sequence of n satellite images, which represent the state of a region area in different years. For these purposes, we have developed a specific spatio-temporal prediction approach, linking results of forestry evolution analysis and fuzzy logic. The method is supported by the analysis of the landscape dynamics of a test-site located in a tropical rain country: the oriental piedmont of Andes Mountain in Venezuela. This large area - at the scale of a spot satellite image - is typical of tropical deforestation in a pioneer front. The presented approach allows the geographer interested in environmental prospective problems to get type cartographical documents showing future conditions of a landscape. The experimental tests have showed promising results.