Data base of Land Use/Land Cover Maps of Matiguas, Muy Muy, Rio Blanco, Nicaragua (1978, 1986, 1998, 2011)
Description
The objective of the study was to know the patterns of Land-Use/Land-Cover change and deforestation in a territory of importance for livestock development in Nicaragua: La Vía Láctea (Matiguas, Muy Muy, and Rio Blanco). The study was delimited based on municipal limits at a scale of 1:50,000 considering the geopolitical limit of the three municipalities. The analysis of time series data of land-use and land-cover (LULC) was carried out using multispectral Landsat images (Landsat 3 [MSS] for 1978 and 3 Landsat 5 [TM] for 1986, 1998, and 2011), from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and through the Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis). The working images were considered for the same season with less than 20% of cloud cover. Prior to interpretation, atmospheric correction and geometric rectification were performed. The dates selected for the processing of LULC changes depended on the availability of images and the presence of clouds.