High-resolution mapping of forest canopy height using machine learning by coupling ICESat-2 LiDAR with Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2 and Landsat-8 data

Forest canopy height is an important indicator of forest carbon storage, productivity, and biodiversity. The present study showed the first attempt to develop a machine-learning workflow to map the spatial pattern of the forest canopy height in a mountainous region in the northeast China by coupling the recently available canopy height (H_canopy) footprint product from ICESat-2 with the Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellite data. The ICESat-2 H_canopy was initially validated by the high-resolution canopy height from airborne LiDAR data at different spatial scales. Performance comparisons were conducted between two machine-learning models – deep learning (DL) model and random forest (RF) model, and between the Sentinel and Landsat-8 satellites. Results showed that the ICESat-2 H_canopy showed the highest correlation with the airborne LiDAR canopy height at a spatial scale of 250 m with a Pearson’s correlation coefficient (R) of 0.82 and a mean bias of -1.46 m, providing important evidence on the reliability of the ICESat-2 vegetation height product from the case in China’s forest. Both DL and RF models obtained satisfactory accuracy on the upscaling of ICESat-2 H_canopy assisted by Sentinel satellite co-variables with an R-value between the observed and predicted H_canopy equalling 0.78 and 0.68, respectively. Compared to Sentinel satellites, Landsat-8 showed relatively weaker performance in H_canopy prediction, suggesting that the addition of the backscattering coefficients from Sentinel-1 and the red-edge related variables from Sentinel-2 could positively contribute to the prediction of forest canopy height. To our knowledge, few studies have demonstrated large-scale vegetation height mapping in a resolution ≤ 250 m based on the newly available satellites (ICESat-2, Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2) and DL regression model, particularly in the forest areas in China. Thus, the present work provided a timely and important supplementary to the applications of these new earth observation tools.     

利用Sentinel-2影像超分辨率重建的红树林冠层氮含量反演

氮素是植被整个生命周期的必要元素,红树林冠层氮素含量（CNC）遥感估算对红树林健康监测具有重要意义。以广东湛江高桥红树林保护区为研究区,本文旨在基于Sentinel-2影像超分辨率重建技术进行红树林CNC估算和空间制图。研究首先基于三次卷积重采样、Sen2Res和SupReMe算法实现Sentinel-2影像从20 m分辨率到10 m的重建;然后以重建后的影像和原始20 m影像为数据源构建40个相关植被指数,采用递归特征消除法（SVM-RFE）确定CNC估算的最优变量组合,进而构建CNC反演的核岭回归（KRR）模型;最后选取最优模型实现CNC制图。研究结果表明：基于Sen2Res和SupReMe超分辨率算法的重建影像不仅与原始影像具有很高的光谱一致性,且明显提高了影像的清晰度和空间细节。红树林CNC反演波段主要集中在红（B4）、红边（B5）、近红外波段（B8a）以及短波红外波段（B11和B12）,与“红边波段”相关的植被指数（RSSI和TCARIre1/OSAVI）也是红树林CNC反演的有效变量。基于3种方法重建后10 m的影像构建的模型反演精度（R²val>0.579）均优于原始20 m的影像（R²val=0.504）;基于Sen2Res算法重建影像构建的反演模型拟合精度（R²val=0.630,RMSE_val=5.133,RE_val=0.179）与基于三次卷积重采样重建影像的模型拟合精度（R²val=0.640,RMSE_val=5.064,RE_val=0.179）基本相当,前者模型验证精度（R²cv=0.497,RMSE_cv=5.985,RE_cv=0.214）较高且模型变量选择数量最为合理。综合重建影像光谱细节及模型精度,基于Sen2Res算法重建的Sentinel-2影像在红树林CNC估算中具有良好的应用潜力,能为区域尺度红树林冠层健康状况的精细监测提供有效的方法借鉴和数据支撑。     

苹果冠层/叶片高光谱数据库系统的设计与建立

设计与建立苹果冠层/叶片高光谱数据库,实现苹果冠层/叶片高光谱数据的获取、整理、存储与应用分析,可以为苹果养分含量的高光谱遥感反演提供数据服务和支持。利用ASD Field Spec 3地物光谱仪采集的苹果冠层/叶片高光谱数据,在Microsoft Visual Studio 2010开发环境下,基于C#语言与SQLServer 2008关系型数据库,采用C/S开发模式,设计与建立了苹果冠层/叶片高光谱数据库系统,完成了对高光谱数据批量录入、存储、导出与数据处理多项功能。     

Estimating aboveground biomass of the mangrove forests on northeast Hainan Island in China using an upscaling method from field plots,UAV-LiDAR data and Sentinel-2 imagery

The mangrove forests of northeast Hainan Island are the most species diverse forests in China and consist of the Dongzhai National Nature Reserve and the Qinglan Provincial Nature Reserve. The former reserve is the first Chinese national nature reserve for mangroves and the latter has the most abundant mangrove species in China. However, to date the aboveground ground biomass (AGB) of this mangrove region has not been quantified due to the high species diversity and the difficulty of extensive field sampling in mangrove habitat. Although three-dimensional point clouds can capture the forest vertical structure, their application to large areas is hindered by the logistics, costs and data volumes involved. To fill the gap and address this issue, this study proposed a novel upscaling method for mangrove AGB estimation using field plots, UAV-LiDAR strip data and Sentinel-2 imagery (named G∼LiDAR∼S2 model) based on a point-line-polygon framework. In this model, the partial-coverage UAV-LiDAR data were used as a linear bridge to link ground measurements to the wall-to-wall coverage Sentinel-2 data. The results showed that northeast Hainan Island has a total mangrove AGB of 312,806.29 Mg with a mean AGB of 119.26 Mg ha⁻¹. The results also indicated that at the regional scale, the proposed UAV-LiDAR linear bridge method (i.e., G∼LiDAR∼S2 model) performed better than the traditional approach, which directly relates field plots to Sentinel-2 data (named the G∼S2 model) (R² = 0.62 > 0.52, RMSE = 50.36 Mg ha⁻¹<56.63 Mg ha⁻¹). Through a trend extrapolation method, this study inferred that the G∼LiDAR∼S2 model could decrease the number of field samples required by approximately 37% in comparison with those required by the G∼S2 model in the study area. Regarding the UAV-LiDAR sampling intensity, compared with the original number of LiDAR plots, 20% of original linear bridges could produce an acceptable accuracy (R² = 0.62, RMSE = 51.03 Mg ha⁻¹). Consequently, this study presents the first investigation of AGB for the mangrove forests on northeast Hainan Island in China and verifies the feasibility of using this mangrove AGB upscaling method for diverse mangrove forests.     

Evaluating the capabilities of Sentinel-2 for quantitative estimation of biophysical variables in vegetation

The red edge position (REP) in the vegetation spectral reflectance is a surrogate measure of vegetation chlorophyll content, and hence can be used to monitor the health and function of vegetation. The Multi-Spectral Instrument (MSI) aboard the future ESA Sentinel-2 (S-2) satellite will provide the opportunity for estimation of the REP at much higher spatial resolution (20 m) than has been previously possible with spaceborne sensors such as Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) aboard ENVISAT. This study aims to evaluate the potential of S-2 MSI sensor for estimation of canopy chlorophyll content, leaf area index (LAI) and leaf chlorophyll concentration (LCC) using data from multiple field campaigns. Included in the assessed field campaigns are results from SEN3Exp in Barrax, Spain composed of 35 elementary sampling units (ESUs) of LCC and LAI which have been assessed for correlation with simulated MSI data using a CASI airborne imaging spectrometer. Analysis also presents results from SicilyS2EVAL, a campaign consisting of 25 ESUs in Sicily, Italy supported by a simultaneous Specim Aisa-Eagle data acquisition. In addition, these results were compared to outputs from the PROSAIL model for similar values of biophysical variables in the ESUs. The paper in turn assessed the scope of S-2 for retrieval of biophysical variables using these combined datasets through investigating the performance of the relevant Vegetation Indices (VIs) as well as presenting the novel Inverted Red-Edge Chlorophyll Index (IRECI) and Sentinel-2 Red-Edge Position (S2REP). Results indicated significant relationships between both canopy chlorophyll content and LAI for simulated MSI data using IRECI or the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) while S2REP and the MERIS Terrestrial Chlorophyll Index (MTCI) were found to have the strongest correlation for retrieval of LCC.     

Remotely sensed estimation of forest canopy density: A comparison of the performance of four methods

In recent years, a number of alternative methods have been proposed to predict forest canopy density from remotely sensed data. To date, however, it remains difficult to decide which method to use, since their relative performance has never been evaluated. In this study the performance of: (1) an artificial neural network, (2) a multiple linear regression, (3) the forest canopy density mapper and (4) a maximum likelihood classification method was compared for prediction of forest canopy density using a Landsat ETM+ image. Comparison of confusion matrices revealed that the regression model performed significantly worse than the three other methods. These results were based on a z-test for comparison of weighted kappa statistics, which is an appropriate statistic for analysis of ranked categories. About 89% of the variance of the observed canopy density was explained by the artificial neural networks, which outperformed the other three methods in this respect. Moreover, the artificial neural networks gave an unbiased prediction, while other methods systematically under or over predicted forest canopy density. The choice of biased method could have a high impact on canopy density inventories.     

Mapping of forest tree distribution and estimation of forest biodiversity using Sentinel-2 imagery in the University Research Forest Taxiarchis in Chalkidiki,Greece

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the potential of Sentinel-2 imagery for the identification and determination of forest patches of particular interest, with respect to ecosystem integrity and biodiversity and to produce a relevant biodiversity map, based on Simpson’s diversity index in Taxiarchis university research forest, Chalkidiki, North Greece. The research is based on OBIA being developed on to bi-temporal summer and winter Sentinel-2 imagery. Fuzzy rules, which are based on topographic factors, such as terrain elevation and slope for the distribution of each tree species, derived from expert knowledge and field observations, were used to improve the accuracy of tree species classification. Finally, Simpson’s diversity index for forest tree species, was calculated and mapped, constituting a relative indicator for biodiversity for forest ecosystem organisms (fungi, insects, birds, reptiles, mammals) and carrying implications for the identification of patches prone to disturbance or that should be prioritized for conservation.     

基于Sentinel-2影像的雄安新区2016—2019年土地利用分析

雄安新区是国家层面打造的又一个具有重要战略意义的新区,及时准确掌握该地区的土地利用详情具有重要意义。本文利用10 m分辨率的Sentinel-2影像对雄安新区2016—2019年的土地利用进行分类,进而分析该地区的土地利用时空演变。共测试了决策树、随机森林和支持向量机3种分类器,进而获得最高精度的土地分类结果图;同时,利用随机森林的特征排序功能分析了不同特征的重要性。结果表明,雄安新区的耕地、林地、水生植物面积总体均呈显著减少趋势,建设用地面积变化最为显著,表明雄安新区正在进行中、快速的城市化发展。本研究得到的10 m分辨率土地利用专题图和分析结果对于雄安新区的及时监测与规划有着重要参考意义。     

Remote sensing data in lithium (Li) exploration: A new approach for the detection of Li-bearing pegmatites

Remote sensing has proved to be a powerful resource in geology capable of delineating target exploration areas for several deposit types. Only recently, these methodologies have been used for the detection of lithium (Li)-bearing pegmatites. This happened because of the growing importance and demand of Li for the construction of Li-ion batteries for electric cars. The objective of this study was to develop innovative and effective remote sensing methodologies capable of identifying Li-pegmatites through alteration mapping and through the direct identification of Li-bearing minerals. For that, cloud free Landsat-5, Landsat-8, Sentinel-2 and ASTER images with low vegetation coverage were used. The image processing methods included: RGB (red, green, blue) combinations, band ratios and selective principal component analysis (PCA). The study area of this work is the Fregeneda (Salamanca, Spain)-Almendra (Vila Nova de Foz Côa, Portugal) region, where different known types of Li-pegmatites have been mapped. This study proposes new RGB combinations, band ratios and subsets for selective PCA capable of differentiating the spectral signatures of the Li-bearing pegmatites from the spectral signatures of the host rocks. The potential and limitations of the methodologies proposed are discussed, but overall there is a great potential for the identification of Li-bearing pegmatites using remote sensing. The results obtained could be improved using sensors with a better spatial and spectral resolution.     

Using a simulation analysis to evaluate the impact of crop mapping error on crop area estimation from stratified sampling

ABSTRACT

To analyze the efficiency of area estimations (i.e. estimation accuracy and variation of estimation) impacted by crop mapping error, we simulated error at eight levels for thematic maps using a stratified sampling estimation methodology. The results show that the estimation efficiency is influenced by the combination of the sample size and the error level. Evaluating the trade-offs between sample size and error level showed that reducing the crop mapping error level provides the most benefit (i.e. higher estimation efficiency). Further, sampling performance differed based on the heterogeneity of the crop area. The results demonstrated that the influence of increasing the error level on estimation efficiency is more detrimental in heterogeneous areas than in homogeneous ones. Therefore, to obtain higher estimation efficiency, a larger sample size and lower error level or both are needed, especially in heterogeneous areas. We suggest that existing land-cover maps should first be used to determine the heterogeneity of the area. The appropriate sample size for these areas then can be determined according to all three factors: heterogeneity, expected estimation efficiency, and sampling budget. Overall, extending our understanding of the impacts of crop mapping error is necessary for decision making to improve our ability to effectively estimate crop area.     

ICESat-2植被冠层高度和地表高程数据产品用于森林高度提取的效果评价

由美国宇航局(NASA)研制的新一代冰、云和陆地高程卫星(ICESat-2)于2018-09-15发射成功,其搭载的先进地形激光测高系统(ATLAS)采用微脉冲多波束光子计数激光雷达技术,可用于全球高程线采样数据的获取.目前公开发布了9种数据产品,其中包括植被冠层高度和地表高程数据产品(ATL08),为全球森林结构参数...