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The landcover change around Uluru (in the East) and Kata Tjuta, (in the West) during the period January 1973 to December 1989. The most extensive agent of landcover change has been fire. The smaller sized landcover change is more intriguing. First there is an unusual halo of landcover change around Kata Tjuta. The nature of this change can be interpreted by eyeballing the two FCC images. Surrounding Uluru itself is a halo of regrowth; note the airstrip. This regrowth indicates an important change for the better, in the way in which access to the monolith is now managed. In contrast to the regrowth around Uluru, is the loss of landcover associated with the construction of the resort town of Yulara to the North of Uluru.
The landcover change that we can detect from 900 km out in space tells a little of the cultural and political transformation that I have discussed above. Most importantly, the images convince you just how small, atypical and unique are the two outcrops that are Uluru and Kata Tjuta. The most extensive agent of landcover change has been fire, and the characteristically shaped footprints spread across the images, sometimes following, sometimes not, the intricately patterned desert dunefield.
