Using TM images to detect soil sealing change in Madrid (Spain)

•Soil sealing is a problem that mainly affects countries of great demographics.•Remote sensing is a useful technique for mapping soil sealing.•Landsat images allow to contrast the information with soils and class agrologic maps.

Landsat TM images are used to define soil sealing in the Madrid Autonomous Region (Spain) between 1989 and 2010. The comparison of images within this time frame obtains an estimated loss of 42,800 ha of agricultural land. Soil sealing mainly occurred in metropolitan areas as well as in the E, SW and NW of the capital. Landsat images overlaid on agrological classification maps and soil association maps show that the most significant losses correspond to agricultural classifications B and C and luvisols associated with cambisols, regosols, calcisols and fluvisols (WRBSR, 2007).