The book includes twelve studies related to advances, perspectives and applications in geomatics. The authors are experts in the field and come from different national and international institutions. The book is divided into two sections of six chapters each; the first one presents theoretical aspects about concepts, technologies, techniques and directions that geomatics is following, and the second section includes examples of application in environmental issues, plant cover, land use and coverage, and participative cartography.

This review presents each one of the chapters in a concise manner, highlighting the most important contributions; and, for the chapters on application, an emphasis is made on methodology and on a general comment about the book.

In the first section, Escalona et al. present a sequence of techniques for the pre-processing of Lansat 4, 5 and 7 satellite images. First, they make the geometrical adjustment and the assignation of geo-referencing; then, the atmospheric and radiometric corrections; and, lastly, the topographic corrections of the image. They indicate that the proposal varies subtly according to the information available and that it is important to take into account the sequence of steps taken to perform an adequate pre-processing of the images.

In the second chapter, Fernández-Ordóñez and Soria-Ruiz revise the physical principles of the radar images of synthetic openness. They point out that this type of images is better than those by optic sensors, since they do not depend on sunlight and are not limited by atmospheric interference. They indicate that the radar images are increasingly more necessary because of their capacity to contribute information about objects and phenomena of the earth surface and their immediate environment, under conditions of atmospheric disturbance. On the other hand, Ortiz et al., authors of the third chapter, expose an approximation to the functioning of the auto-transported LiDAR for the management of forest resources. The data from LiDAR allow obtaining information with high spatial resolution and precision of the horizontal and vertical structure of the canopy. The authors point out that this technology offers great potential to develop methodologies that allow performing precise estimations of the forest inventory. In the next chapter Reyes et al. present four cutting-edge themes in geomatics. Cybercartography and geocybernetics are two related concepts of recent creation, given the need to address territorial problems with a transdisciplinary, systemic and analytical vision. The inter-operability of information is a new research line aimed at society having a greater and better access to geospatial information. Geotechnological research arises as a result of the astonishing advance there is in the development of geocybernetics artifacts and the incorporation of new resources to its design.

Cajuste-Bontemps and Ojeda-Trejo analyze the new generation of multispectral satellite images. They mention that the availability of complete and periodical coverage of the national territory with high-resolution images improves the spatial understanding and the process of public policy design, decision making, and the use of natural resources. In the sixth chapter they expose the new role of the GPS in geolocalization and geopositioning services; these are related to recyclable cartography, urban navigation, vigilance, traffic monitoring, and the location of services and products in rural and urban spaces through the use of GPS and spatial databases in online devices.

In the second section, Franco et al. make reference to a spatial-temporal analysis of the ozone and nitrogen dioxide concentrations; they use a method to sample pollutants and use geostatistics to determine their distribution and concentration, in addition to representing the results in a geographic information system.

In the chapter two of this second section, Macedo Cruz and Villegas Romero address the dynamics of the plant cover through remote sensors. In this study, they propose a strategy of unsupervised classification of digital images and random stratified sampling to evaluate the classification and data taking of soil and type of vegetation. In addition to verifying the changes in plant cover, they conclude that the model does not need more information than the digital image, both for multispectral images and for those of a single spectral component.

In the third chapter, Tapia et al. present the comparison of a model of infiltration capability with that of recharge. The study proposes a methodology based on the spatial analysis for the qualitative definition and identification of zones of infiltration capability. When comparing with the model of recharge calculation, they conclude that determining infiltration capabilities is more reliable in some zones of the study area, and that the methodology is applicable considering the restrictions of geospatial information.

In the fourth chapter, Soria-Ruiz et al. present a study of land use and coverage in compact agricultural areas (CAA). In the methodology, different digital cartographic products were used, in addition to Spot 5 satellite images with different levels of processing and spatial and spectral resolution. Sixteen CAA were identified, and it is mentioned that these are areas of national priority and a reference for productive reconversion actions, in addition to enabling the improvement of policies in support of the Mexican countryside.

Chapter five, elaborated by Jiménez et al., is a study about the detection and prediction of urban land use change. First, the changes were detected through digitalization in aerial photographs and orthophotos; then a probabilistic model of urban growth was defined, and at the end scenarios were constructed through a polynomial regression. The results indicate a spatial growth between 1977 and 1996, of 135 % to 405 %; the probability of change depends on the distances to roads, to rivers, and on the slope; it is estimated that between 2010 and 2010, 2337.8 hectares will be needed for a population of nearly 380 thousand inhabitants, and that there will be a horizontal urban expansion, specifically over the roads.

In the last chapter of section two, Ojeda-Trejo et al. present a study on participative cartography for community territorial planning. The methodology includes obtaining information at the ejido level through ERR and ERP techniques, and the participation of people in mapping the ejido, the land classes, and the land uses. The results are centered on the generation of three maps: the ejido, land classes, and land uses. The creation of participative cartography is an alternative representation of the territory for planning land use and decision-making by the residents themselves.

Final commentary. The advancement of equipment and technologies in the areas of information and communication has had an important development in recent decades. This has not been the exception in the field of geomatics; the book Advances and perspectives of geomatics with environmental, agricultural and urban applications is a palpable reflection of this. This book presents interesting theoretical aspects, but also a series of practical applications that reflect the potential in geomatics for the study of the Earth's crust and the environmental, natural and socioeconomic phenomena that happen on it. The development of technologies, such as Radar images, LiDAR, and GPS, allow having access to a greater and better quality of geospatial information and this, in turn, allows performing more precise studies of the Earth's crust and the phenomena present in it. Issues like the services and products based on positioning are showing an extraordinary development, thanks to the advance of geomatics and, specifically, the development of the GPS and digital cartography.