Which GIS process would most benefit a project seeking to analyze habitat changes over time?

Temporal analysis is the most appropriate GIS process for analyzing habitat changes over time because it focuses on understanding how spatial patterns and phenomena evolve across different time periods. In the context of habitat analysis, temporal analysis allows for the examination of data collected at various times, revealing trends such as habitat loss, changes in species distribution, or effects of environmental factors over time. This process can utilize time-series data to create models that predict future habitat conditions, enhance ecological understanding, and inform conservation efforts.

Rasterization, while useful for converting vector data into raster format, does not specifically address time-related changes. Overlay analysis is valuable for examining the relationships between different spatial datasets but does not inherently consider temporal aspects. Geocoding focuses on converting addresses into spatial data points but does not facilitate the analysis of changes over time. Hence, temporal analysis is uniquely suited to meet the needs of a project focused on habitat changes across different periods.