The LACO-Wiki project will integrate the current LACOVAL (LAnd Cover VALidation) software prototype for the validation of land cover maps with Geo-Wiki, a visualization and crowdsourcing tool. The result will be an open access on-line validation platform offering standardized validation functionality for map users and producers.
Overview
The LACOVAL prototype was developed as part of a previous project funded by the European Space Agency. It was extensively tested with a user community at the European level, i.e. the European Environment Agency and the EAGLE Land Monitoring group. The limitations of LACOVAL were identified and a wish list of additional functionality was drawn up, which will be addressed in the LACO-Wiki project.
The LACO-Wiki platform will also be used to collect validation points and land cover maps contributed on a voluntary basis to produce an openly accessible repository for national, regional and global calibration and validation data as well as maps in the future. The ultimate aim is to build a thriving land cover validation community around this proposed platform that will engage universities, national environmental agencies, commercial service providers and international initiatives such as GOFC-GOLD and the Group on Earth Observation.
IIASA Research
IIASA researchers are involved in the design and development of the LACO-Wiki system, which will become another branch within Geo-Wiki. LACO-Wiki will therefore benefit from the existing architecture, database structure and satellite imagery from Google Earth (and other reference data such as Bing maps, orthophotos, etc.) that are currently part of Geo-Wiki. IIASA, in collaboration with GeoVille, will engage with stakeholders to ensure a system that meets the needs of a diverse land cover community.