A semi-ellipsoid-model based fuzzy classifier to map grassland in Inner Mongolia,China

Remote sensing techniques offer effective means for mapping plant communities. However, mapping grassland with fine vegetative classes over large areas has been challenging for either the coarse resolutions of remotely sensed images or the high costs of acquiring images with high-resolutions. An improved hybrid-fuzzy-classifier (HFC) derived from a semi-ellipsoid-model (SEM) is developed in this paper to achieve higher accuracy for classifying grasslands with Landsat images. The Xilin River Basin, Inner Mongolia, China, is chosen as the study area, because an acceptable volume of ground truthing data was previously collected by multiple research communities. The accuracy assessment is based on the comparison of the classification outcomes from four types of image sets: (1) Landsat ETM+ August 14, 2004, (2) Landsat TM August 12, 2009, (3) the fused images of ETM+ with CBERS, and (4) TM with CBERS, respectively, and by three classifiers, the proposed HFC-SEM, the tetragonal pyramid model (TPM) based HFC, and the support vector machine method. In all twelve classification experiments, the HFC-SEM classifier had the best overall accuracy statistics. This finding indicates that the medium resolution Landsat images can be used to map grassland vegetation with good vegetative detail when the proper classifier is applied.     

Use of field reflectance data for crop mapping using airborne hyperspectral image

Recent developments in hyperspectral remote sensing technologies enable acquisition of image with high spectral resolution, which is typical to the laboratory or in situ reflectance measurements. There has been an increasing interest in the utilization of in situ reference reflectance spectra for rapid and repeated mapping of various surface features. Here we examined the prospect of classifying airborne hyperspectral image using field reflectance spectra as the training data for crop mapping. Canopy level field reflectance measurements of some important agricultural crops, i.e. alfalfa, winter barley, winter rape, winter rye, and winter wheat collected during four consecutive growing seasons are used for the classification of a HyMAP image acquired for a separate location by (1) mixture tuned matched filtering (MTMF), (2) spectral feature fitting (SFF), and (3) spectral angle mapper (SAM) methods. In order to answer a general research question “what is the prospect of using independent reference reflectance spectra for image classification”, while focussing on the crop classification, the results indicate distinct aspects. On the one hand, field reflectance spectra of winter rape and alfalfa demonstrate excellent crop discrimination and spectral matching with the image across the growing seasons. On the other hand, significant spectral confusion detected among the winter barley, winter rye, and winter wheat rule out the possibility of existence of a meaningful spectral matching between field reflectance spectra and image. While supporting the current notion of “non-existence of characteristic reflectance spectral signatures for vegetation”, results indicate that there exist some crops whose spectral signatures are similar to characteristic spectral signatures with possibility of using them in image classification.     

A study of supervised classification accuracy in fuzzy topological methods

The multiple classifier system (MCS) is an effective automatic classification method, useful in connection with remote sensing analysis techniques. Combining MSC with induced fuzzy topology enables a decomposition of image classes. This fuzzy topological MCS then provides a new and improved approach to classification. The basic classification methods discussed in this paper include maximum likelihood classification (MLC), minimum distance classification (MIND) and Mahalanobis distance classification (MAH).     

Automatic extraction of building roofs using LIDAR data and multispectral imagery

Automatic 3D extraction of building roofs from remotely sensed data is important for many applications including city modelling. This paper proposes a new method for automatic 3D roof extraction through an effective integration of LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) data and multispectral orthoimagery. Using the ground height from a DEM (Digital Elevation Model), the raw LIDAR points are separated into two groups. The first group contains the ground points that are exploited to constitute a ‘ground mask’. The second group contains the non-ground points which are segmented using an innovative image line guided segmentation technique to extract the roof planes. The image lines are extracted from the grey-scale version of the orthoimage and then classified into several classes such as ‘ground’, ‘tree’, ‘roof edge’ and ‘roof ridge’ using the ground mask and colour and texture information from the orthoimagery. During segmentation of the non-ground LIDAR points, the lines from the latter two classes are used as baselines to locate the nearby LIDAR points of the neighbouring planes. For each plane a robust seed region is thereby defined using the nearby non-ground LIDAR points of a baseline and this region is iteratively grown to extract the complete roof plane. Finally, a newly proposed rule-based procedure is applied to remove planes constructed on trees. Experimental results show that the proposed method can successfully remove vegetation and so offers high extraction rates.     

基于小波多分辨率方向高程限差的LiDAR数据滤波

本文在研究了小波多分辨率分析原理的基础上,将小波变换引入到机载LIDAR数据滤波中,利用金字塔分层理论实现原始DSM数据的快速组织,加快计算速度,提高滤波效率。同时在滤波阈值选择中顾及整个区域的方向高程差,使判断条件更加符合地形特点,提高滤波的准确度。本文最后利用实际的LIDAR数据进行了实验和精度分析。     

Detection of leaf structures in close-range hyperspectral images using morphological fusion

Abstract

Close-range hyperspectral images are a promising source of information in plant biology, in particular, for in vivo study of physiological changes. In this study, we investigate how data fusion can improve the detection of leaf elements by combining pixel reflectance and morphological information. The detection of image regions associated to the leaf structures is the first step toward quantitative analysis on the physical effects that genetic manipulation, disease infections, and environmental conditions have in plants. We tested our fusion approach on Musa acuminata (banana) leaf images and compared its discriminant capability to similar techniques used in remote sensing. Experimental results demonstrate the efficiency of our fusion approach, with significant improvements over some conventional methods.     

基于机载激光雷达点云数据提取林木参数方法研究

本文通过黑河流域遥感—地面观测同步试验,获取林木参数,对机载激光雷达与实地观测获取的林木参数进行对比分析,论证了本文提出的基于机载激光雷达点云数据提取林木参数的算法是可行的。试验通过机载激光雷达点云数据,研究由点云数据生成冠层高度模型(CHM),提出从CHM中提取单株木参数(树高、冠幅等)的关键算法;同时,通过在试验区布设1个100m×100m超级样地和16个25m×25m的子样地,利用DGPS和全站仪对单株木进行精确定位与树木参数测量。     

Geostatistical incorporation of spatial coordinates into supervised classification of hyperspectral data

 This paper presents a methodology to incorporate both hyperspectral properties and spatial coordinates of pixels in maximum likelihood classification. Indicator kriging of ground data is used to estimate, for each pixel, the prior probabilities of occurrence of classes which are then combined with spectral-based probabilities within a Bayesian framework. In the case study (mapping of in-stream habitats), accounting for spatial coordinates increases the overall producer's accuracy from 85.8% to 93.8%, while the Kappa statistic rises from 0.74 to 0.88. Best results are obtained using only indicator kriging-based probabilities, with a stunning overall accuracy of 97.2%. Significant improvements are observed for environmentally important units, such as pools (Kappa: 0.17 to 0.74) and eddy drop zones (Kappa: 0.65 to 0.87). The lack of benefit of using hyperspectral information in the present study can be explained by the dense network of ground observations and the high spatial continuity of field classification which might be spurious. Received: 12 April 2001 / Accepted: 7 September 2001     

Tree species identification within an extensive forest area with diverse management regimes using airborne hyperspectral data

Information on tree species composition is crucial in forest management and can be obtained using remote sensing. While the topic has been addressed frequently over the last years, the remote sensing-based identification of tree species across wide and complex forest areas is still sparse in the literature. Our study presents a tree species classification of a large fraction of the Białowieża Forest in Poland covering 62 000 ha and being subject to diverse management regimes. Key objectives were to obtain an accurate tree species map and to examine if the prevalent management strategy influences the classification results. Tree species classification was conducted based on airborne hyperspectral HySpex data. We applied an iterative Support Vector Machine classification and obtained a thematic map of 7 individual tree species (birch, oak, hornbeam, lime, alder, pine, spruce) and an additional class containing other broadleaves. Generally, the more heterogeneous the area was, the more errors we observed in the classification results. Managed forests were classified more accurately than reserves. Our findings indicate that mapping dominant tree species with airborne hyperspectral data can be accomplished also over large areas and that forest management and its effects on forest structure has an influence on classification accuracies and should be actively considered when progressing towards operational mapping of tree species composition.     

天宫一号高光谱遥感场景分类数据集及应用

天宫一号高光谱成像仪具有空间分辨率高、光谱分辨率高、图谱合一等特性，在中国航天高光谱领域具有里程碑的意义。针对一般遥感场景分类数据集尺度单一、光谱分辨率较低等问题，本文提出基于天宫一号的多谱段、高空间分辨率、多时相高光谱遥感场景分类数据集(TG1HRSSC)。利用天宫一号高光谱成像仪获取的高质量数据，经过辐射校正、几何校正、空间裁剪、波段筛选、数据质量分析与控制等，制作了一批通用的航天高光谱遥感场景分类数据集，通过载人航天空间应用数据推广服务平台（http://www.msadc.cn[2019-09-10]）进行分发和共享。该数据集包括天宫一号高光谱成像仪获取的城镇、农田、林地、养殖塘、荒漠、湖泊、河流、港口、机场等9个典型地物场景的204个高光谱影像数据，其中5 m分辨率全色谱段1个波段、10 m分辨率可见近红外谱段54个有效波段以及20 m分辨率短波红外谱段52个有效波段。研究利用AlexNet、VGG-VD-16、GoogLeNet等深度学习算法网络对构建的数据集进行场景分类的试验，结果表明该数据集的场景分类应用实现较好效果。由于该数据集具备高分辨、高光谱等特征优势，未来在语义理解、多目标检测等方面有着广泛的应用价值。     

高光谱遥感影像分类研究进展

随着模式识别、机器学习、遥感技术等相关学科领域的发展,高光谱遥感影像分类研究取得快速进展。本文系统总结和评述了当前高光谱遥感影像分类的相关研究进展,在总结分类策略的基础上,重点从以核方法为代表的新型分类器设计、特征挖掘、空间-光谱分类、基于主动学习和半监督学习的分类、基于稀疏表达的分类、多分类器集成六个方面对高光谱影像像素级分类最新研究进行了综述。针对今后的研究方向,指出高光谱遥感影像分类一方面要适应大数据、智能化高光谱对地观测的发展前沿,继续引入机器学习领域的新理论、新方法,综合利用多源遥感数据、多维特征空间互补的优势,提高分类精度、分类器泛化能力和自动化程度;另一方面要关注高光谱遥感应用的需求,突出高光谱遥感记录精细光谱特征的优势,针对应用需求发展有效的分类方法。     

Fusion of HJ1B and ALOS PALSAR data for land cover classification using machine learning methods

Image classification from remote sensing is becoming increasingly urgent for monitoring environmental changes. Exploring effective algorithms to increase classification accuracy is critical. This paper explores the use of multispectral HJ1B and ALOS (Advanced Land Observing Satellite) PALSAR L-band (Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar) for land cover classification using learning-based algorithms. Pixel-based and object-based image analysis approaches for classifying HJ1B data and the HJ1B and ALOS/PALSAR fused-images were compared using two machine learning algorithms, support vector machine (SVM) and random forest (RF), to test which algorithm can achieve the best classification accuracy in arid and semiarid regions. The overall accuracies of the pixel-based (Fused data: 79.0%; HJ1B data: 81.46%) and object-based classifications (Fused data: 80.0%; HJ1B data: 76.9%) were relatively close when using the SVM classifier. The pixel-based classification achieved a high overall accuracy (85.5%) using the RF algorithm for classifying the fused data, whereas the RF classifier using the object-based image analysis produced a lower overall accuracy (70.2%). The study demonstrates that the pixel-based classification utilized fewer variables and performed relatively better than the object-based classification using HJ1B imagery and the fused data. Generally, the integration of the HJ1B and ALOS/PALSAR imagery can improve the overall accuracy of 5.7% using the pixel-based image analysis and RF classifier.     

Blue Earth River quality monitoring using ARCHER hyperspectral data and field measurements

In past decades, remote sensing studies on water quality mapping mainly focused on lakes using medium resolution imagery. Little research utilizes hyperspectral images to assess river water quality. This study aims to assess the capability of using Airborne Real-time Cueing Hyperspectral Enhanced Reconnaissance (ARCHER) for river water quality mapping and to characterize spatial patterns of turbidity and chlorophyll in the Blue Earth River (BER) system of Minnesota. The BER was characterized by both hyperspectral imagery (HSI) and laboratory analysis of synchronously collected water quality data. The optimal bands for water quality mapping were determined using a method based on hyperspectral profiles and derivative analysis. Finally, based on the regression analysis and modelling, we mapped continuous surface water turbidity. The results revealed that the ratio of HSI band 17 to band 9 effectively determined turbidity and chlorophyll concentrations. The study also found that turbidity and chlorophyll in the river generally increases downstream.     

Object-based classification of hyperspectral data using Random Forest algorithm

This paper presents a new framework for object-based classification of high-resolution hyperspectral data. This multi-step framework is based on multi-resolution segmentation (MRS) and Random Forest classifier (RFC) algorithms. The first step is to determine of weights of the input features while using the object-based approach with MRS to processing such images. Given the high number of input features, an automatic method is needed for estimation of this parameter. Moreover, we used the Variable Importance (VI), one of the outputs of the RFC, to determine the importance of each image band. Then, based on this parameter and other required parameters, the image is segmented into some homogenous regions. Finally, the RFC is carried out based on the characteristics of segments for converting them into meaningful objects. The proposed method, as well as, the conventional pixel-based RFC and Support Vector Machine (SVM) method was applied to three different hyperspectral data-sets with various spectral and spatial characteristics. These data were acquired by the HyMap, the Airborne Prism Experiment (APEX), and the Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager (CASI) hyperspectral sensors. The experimental results show that the proposed method is more consistent for land cover mapping in various areas. The overall classification accuracy (OA), obtained by the proposed method was 95.48, 86.57, and 84.29% for the HyMap, the APEX, and the CASI data-sets, respectively. Moreover, this method showed better efficiency in comparison to the spectral-based classifications because the OAs of the proposed method was 5.67 and 3.75% higher than the conventional RFC and SVM classifiers, respectively.     

高光谱-LiDAR多级融合城区地表覆盖分类

城市地区地表覆盖分类在城市研究中是一个十分重要的方向。遥感作为获取地物物理属性的一种重要技术手段,已初步应用于分类研究中。然而,随着城镇化的不断推进,城市内部地物类型越来越复杂,单一的遥感影像已无法满足城区地表覆盖分类中高精度的要求。高光谱影像和LiDAR数据能够分别表征地物的光谱信息及高程而被广泛应用。因此,根据两者之间互补的优势,本文提出了基于高光谱影像和LiDAR数据多级融合的城区地表覆盖分类方法。首先对两幅影像分别进行特征提取,将提取到的光谱、空间及高程信息进行层叠实现特征级融合。对得到的特征影像的所有像素点进行分类,然后利用LiDAR点云数据提取的建筑物掩膜,对非建筑物部分进行分类,再次实现特征级融合,以此改善建筑物区域与非建筑物区域的混淆。然后将未使用掩膜得到的分类结果与利用掩膜得到的分类结果进行投票实现决策级融合。最后利用条件随机场模型对分类结果进行后处理操作,达到平滑图像去除噪声点的目的。     

Determination of chlorophyll content of small water bodies (kettle holes) using hyperspectral airborne data

This study presents an approach for chlorophyll content determination of small shallow water bodies (kettle holes) from hyperspectral airborne ROSIS and HyMap data (acquired on 15 May and 29 July 2008 respectively). Investigated field and airborne spectra for almost all kettle holes do not correspond to each other due to differences in ground sampling distance. Field spectra were collected from the height of 30–35 cm (i.e. area of 0.01–0.015 m²). Airborne pixels of ROSIS and HyMap imageries cover an area of 4 m² and 16 m² respectively and their spectra are highly influenced by algae or bottom properties of the kettle holes. Analysis of airborne spectra revealed that chlorophyll absorption near 677 nm is the same for both datasets. In order to enhance absorption properties, both airborne hyperspectral datasets were normalized by the continuum removal approach. Linear regression algorithms for ROSIS and HyMap datasets were derived using normalized average chlorophyll absorption spectra for each kettle hole. Overall accuracy of biomass mapping for ROSIS data was 71%, and for HyMap 64%. Biomass mapping results showed that, depending on the type of kettle hole, algae distribution, the ‘packaging effect’ and bottom reflection lead to miscalculations of the chlorophyll content using hyperspectral airborne data.     

Integration of full-waveform LiDAR and hyperspectral data to enhance tea and areca classification

Hyperspectral image and full-waveform light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data provide useful spectral and geometric information for classifying land cover. Hyperspectral images contain a large number of bands, thus providing land-cover discrimination. Waveform LiDAR systems record the entire time-varying intensity of a return signal and supply detailed information on geometric distribution of land cover. This study developed an efficient multi-sensor data fusion approach that integrates hyperspectral data and full-waveform LiDAR information on the basis of minimum noise fraction and principal component analysis. Then, support vector machine was used to classify land cover in mountainous areas. Results showed that using multi-sensor fused data achieved better accuracy than using a hyperspectral image alone, with overall accuracy increasing from 83% to 91% using population error matrices, for the test site. The classification accuracies of forest and tea farms exhibited significant improvement when fused data were used. For example, classification results were more complete and compact in tea farms based on fused data. Fused data considered spectral and geometric land-cover information, and increased the discriminability of vegetation classes that provided similar spectral signatures.     

高分辨率遥感图像最近邻模糊分类器的研究及实现

本文针对高分辨率遥感影像快速高效萃取有用信息这一遥感技术应用的热点问题,探讨了一种适合于组合特征识别的遥感图像最近邻模糊分类器。该分类器首先把待识别目标的组合特征与训练模板中的组合特征样本的平均值一一进行比较,从而得到了一个特征差矩阵。用模糊分布函数在同类特征差之间进行处理,生成一个隶属度矩阵,然后用算术平均法对隶属度矩阵进行处理,并用最大隶属度准则来进行分类判决。以新疆和静县的SPOT5图像为例,应用此方法对其进行分类试验。结果表明:利用此分类方法对SPOT5遥感图像进行分类,不仅使分类结果具有丰富的语义信息,而且克服了由于特征选择的不稳定性对分类结果的影响,分类精度也得到了显著的提高。     

Mapping post-fire forest regeneration and vegetation recovery using a combination of very high spatial resolution and hyperspectral satellite imagery

Careful evaluation of forest regeneration and vegetation recovery after a fire event provides vital information useful in land management. The use of remotely sensed data is considered to be especially suitable for monitoring ecosystem dynamics after fire. The aim of this work was to map post-fire forest regeneration and vegetation recovery on the Mediterranean island of Thasos by using a combination of very high spatial (VHS) resolution (QuickBird) and hyperspectral (EO-1 Hyperion) imagery and by employing object-based image analysis. More specifically, the work focused on (1) the separation and mapping of three major post-fire classes (forest regeneration, other vegetation recovery, unburned vegetation) existing within the fire perimeter, and (2) the differentiation and mapping of the two main forest regeneration classes, namely, Pinus brutia regeneration, and Pinus nigra regeneration. The data used in this study consisted of satellite images and field observations of homogeneous regenerated and revegetated areas. The methodology followed two main steps: a three-level image segmentation, and, a classification of the segmented images. The process resulted in the separation of classes related to the aforementioned objectives. The overall accuracy assessment revealed very promising results (approximately 83.7% overall accuracy, with a Kappa Index of Agreement of 0.79). The achieved accuracy was 8% higher when compared to the results reported in a previous work in which only the EO-1 Hyperion image was employed in order to map the same classes. Some classification confusions involving the classes of P. brutia regeneration and P. nigra regeneration were observed. This could be attributed to the absence of large and dense homogeneous areas of regenerated pine trees in the study area.     

Retrieving aboveground biomass of wetland Phragmites australis (common reed) using a combination of airborne discrete-return LiDAR and hyperspectral data

Wetland biomass is essential for monitoring the stability and productivity of wetland ecosystems. Conventional field methods to measure or estimate wetland biomass are accurate and reliable, but expensive, time consuming and labor intensive. This research explored the potential for estimating wetland reed biomass using a combination of airborne discrete-return Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and hyperspectral data. To derive the optimal predictor variables of reed biomass, a range of LiDAR and hyperspectral metrics at different spatial scales were regressed against the field-observed biomasses. The results showed that the LiDAR-derived H_p99 (99th percentile of the LiDAR height) and hyperspectral-calculated modified soil-adjusted vegetation index (MSAVI) were the best metrics for estimating reed biomass using the single regression model. Although the LiDAR data yielded a higher estimation accuracy compared to the hyperspectral data, the combination of LiDAR and hyperspectral data produced a more accurate prediction model for reed biomass (R² = 0.648, RMSE = 167.546 g/m², RMSE_r = 20.71%) than LiDAR data alone. Thus, combining LiDAR data with hyperspectral data has a great potential for improving the accuracy of aboveground biomass estimation.