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.     

Vegetation species mapping in a coastal-dune ecosystem using high resolution satellite imagery

Vegetation mapping is a priority when managing natural protected areas. In this context, very high resolution satellite remote sensing data can be fundamental in providing accurate vegetation cartography at species level. In this work, a complete processing methodology has been developed and validated in a complex vulnerable coastal-dune ecosystem. Specifically, the analysis has been carried out using WorldView-2 imagery, which offers spatial and spectral resolutions. A thorough assessment of 5 atmospheric correction models has been performed using real reflectance measures from a field radiometry campaign. To select the classification methodology, different strategies have been evaluated, including additional spectral (23 vegetation indices) and spatial (4 texture parameters) information to the multispectral bands. Likewise, the application of linear unmixing techniques has been tested and abundance maps of each plant species have been generated using the library of spectral signatures recorded during the campaign. After the analysis conducted, a new methodology has been proposed based on the use of the 6S atmospheric model and the Support Vector Machine classification algorithm applied to a combination of different spectral and spatial input data. Specifically, an overall accuracy of 88,03% was achieved combining the corrected multispectral bands plus a vegetation index (MSAVI2) and texture information (variance of the first principal component). Furthermore, the methodology has been validated by photointerpretation and 3 plant species achieve significant accuracy: Tamarix canariensis (94,9%), Juncus acutus (85,7%) and Launaea arborescens (62,4%). Finally, the classified procedure comparing maps for different seasons has also shown robustness to changes in the phenological state of the vegetation.     

Object based building footprint detection from high resolution multispectral satellite image using K-means clustering algorithm and shape parameters

Object-based image analysis (OBIA) has been a new area of research in satellite image processing applications, since it improves the quality of information acquisition about geospatial objects and also enables to add spatial and contextual information to the objects of interest. The extraction of buildings from High Resolution Satellite (HRS) image in an urban scenario has been an intricate problem due to their different size, shape, varying rooftop textures and low contrast between building and surrounding region. In this study, a new object-based automatic building extraction technique has been proposed to extract building footprints from HRS pan sharpened IKONOS multispectral image. The study is mainly emphasizing on obtaining optimal values for segmentation parameters, shape parameters, and defining rule set to extract buildings and eliminate misclassified other urban features. The suitability of the technique has been judged using different indicators, such as, completeness, correctness and quality.     

结合面向对象和深度特征的高分影像树种分类

针对传统手工提取特征方法需要专业领域知识,提取高质量特征困难的问题,将深度迁移学习技术引入到高分影像树种分类中,提出一种结合面向对象和深度特征的高分影像树种分类方法。为了获取树种的精确边界,该方法首先利用多尺度分割技术分割整幅遥感影像,并选择训练样本作为深度卷积神经网络的输入。为了避免样本数量少导致过拟合问题,采用迁移学习方法,使用ImageNet上训练的VGG16模型参数初始化深度卷积神经网络,并利用全局平局池化压缩参数,在网络最后添加1024个节点的全连接层和7个节点的Softmax分类器,利用反向传播和Adam优化算法训练网络。最后分类整幅遥感影像,生成树种专题地图。以安徽省滁州市的皇甫山国家森林公园为研究区,QuickBird高分影像作为数据源,采用本文方法进行树种分类。试验结果表明,本文方法树种分类总体精度和Kappa系数分别为78.98%和0.685 0,在保证树种精度的同时实现了端到端的树种分类。     

融合高时空分辨率数据估算植被净初级生产力

植被净初级生产力NPP(Net Primary Production)遥感估算与分析,有赖于高时空分辨率的遥感数据,但目前中高分辨率的遥感数据受卫星回访周期及天气的影响,在中国南方地区难以获取连续时间序列的数据,从而影响了高精度的区域植被净初级生产力的遥感估算。为此,提出一种基于多源遥感数据时空融合技术与CASA模型估算高时空分辨率NPP的方法。首先,利用多源遥感数据,即Landsat8 OLI数据与MODIS13Q1数据,采用遥感数据时空融合方法,获得了时间序列的Landsat8 OLI融合数据;然后,基于Landsat8 OLI时空融合数据,并采用CASA模型,以长株潭城市群核心区为例,进行区域植被NPP的遥感估算。研究结果表明,基于时间序列Landsat融合数据估算的30m分辨率的NPP具有良好的空间细节信息,且估算值与实测值的相关系数达0.825,与实测NPP数据保持了较好的一致性。     

Winter wheat biomass estimation using high temporal and spatial resolution satellite data combined with a light use efficiency model

Winter wheat biomass was estimated using HJ CCD and MODIS data, combined with a radiation use efficiency model. Results were validated with ground measurement data. Winter wheat biomass estimated with HJ CCD data correlated well with observed biomass in different experiments (coefficients of determination R² of 0.507, 0.556 and 0.499; n?=?48). In addition, R² values between MODIS estimated and observed biomass are 0.420, 0.502 and 0.633. Even if we downscaled biomass estimated using HJ CCD data to MODIS pixel size (9?×?9 HJ CCD pixels to approximate that MODIS pixel), R² values between estimated and observed biomass were still higher than those from MODIS. We conclude that estimation with remote sensing data, such as the HJ CCD data with high spatial resolution and shorter revisit cycle, can show more detail in spatial pattern and improve the application of remote sensing on a local scale. There is also potential for applying the approach to many other studies, including agricultural production estimation, crop growth monitoring and agricultural ecosystem carbon cycle studies.