نظم تصنيف الغطاء الأرضي و استخدامات الأراضي : (دراسة في الأساس النظري و المنهجي)‎

Abstract EN

Land use science is an old science by its practice and new in its concepts.

It stands before regional planning in the Economic Geography sciences.

It is one of the applications of Geography.

Researchers interested in this science are dealing with producing land cover / land use maps for a specific area with a specific time using a specific land cover / land use classification system (local, national, regional or international.

This paper displays and discusses the most important land cover / land use classification systems and their specifications.

These classification systems are very important in assessment and analysis of natural ,economic and human resources, which are very important in land use planning that is considered as the final the most important process in protection and renewing the natural resources and sustaining the economic and human resources .The following classification systems are displayed: FAO classification and united classification at international level, the European Union – CORINE classification and Holland ITC classification at regional level and the American and British classifications at the national level.

This paper also displays the attempts of the Syrian General Association of Remote Sensing and Ministry of Agriculture to establish a land cover / land use classification system called land use/cover classification (LUCS) to be used for producing a national land cover / land use maps.

This research results display different land cover / land use classification systems with their different levels and the properties of every system.

It is difficult to use the international classification systems for all countries and regions but they are very useful to utilize if the right modifications are done to suit a specific country or region.

Some classification systems are focused on land cover more than the land use like the FAO and united and CORINE classifications ,while others are focused more on land use than land cover like the American and British classifications.

Some classifications are characterized by generality, elasticity and simplicity like the American and ITC classifications while others are more local to suit the environments for which the system was designed,like the British classification and suggested Syrian classification (LUCS) .