Mapping categories of gypseous lands in Mexico and Spain using Landsat imagery

29 Pag., 3 Tabl., 3 Fig. The definitive version is available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/01401963Remote sensing is a powerful tool for thematic mapping, but its use for the discrimination of different kinds of soils has been scarce and the results variable. We demonstrate the usefulness of Landsat ETM+ images to discriminate gypseous lands in two contrasting regions, Cedral, Mexico, and Bujaraloz, Spain. We also discuss the contribution of the infra-red bands, and found the bands of mid and thermal infra-red to be the more useful. A supervised classification of Landsat ETM+ images enabled us to discriminate land covers related to gypseous lands in Cedral, and to locate gypsum lithologies in Bujaraloz. The thermal infra-red band does not substantially improve the classification in Bujaraloz, but it does in Cedral, being best in the wet season, when the differences of temperatures among classes are relevant.A grant-loan of CONACYT (Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, Mexico) funded the PhD studies of first author. Funds AGL2006-01283 and PR2007-0453 from the Spanish Government helped to the completion of this article.Peer reviewe