Remote sensing image classification with GIS data based on spatial data mining techniques

Data mining techniques are used to discover knowledge from GIS database in order to improve remote sensing image classification.Two learning granularities are proposed for inductive learning from spatial data,one is spatial object granularity,the other is pixel granularity.We also present an approach to combine inductive learning with conventional image classification methods,which selects class probability of Bayes classification as learning attributes.A land use classification experiment is performed in the Beijing area using SPOT multi_spectral image and GIS data.Rules about spatial distribution patterns and shape features are discovered by C5.0 inductive learning algorithm and then the image is reclassified by deductive reasoning.Comparing with the result produced only by Bayes classification,the overall accuracy increased by 11% and the accuracy of some classes,such as garden and forest,increased by about 30%.The results indicate that inductive learning can resolve spectral confusion to a great extent.Combining Bayes method with inductive learning not only improves classification accuracy greatly,but also extends the classification by subdividing some classes with the discovered knowledge.