ERTS regional scale overview linking land use and environmental processes in CARETS

A mosaic of ERTS images of the CARETS region has been used to partition the region into zones on the basis of similarity of tones and textures visible at a regional-scale overview. The resulting patterns were compared with existing small scale maps of the region representing relief, land surface forms, geology, soils, vegetation, forest types, and land use. The ERTS-derived zones most closely resemble the patterns on the small scale land use map, suggesting that, at least in a highly developed region such as CARETS, land use is an indicator or resultant surface expression of several interacting environmental processes. These results lend support to the CARETS model of interdisciplinary regional analysis, whereby remote sensor-derived data sets on land use and land use change become the basic data entry into a regional information system to serve regional planners and land managers.