Discrimination of agricultural crops in a tropical semi-arid region of Brazil based on L-band polarimetric airborne SAR data

Recent articles are indicating that polarimetric data provide significantly more information than conventional or multi-polarized images, particularly due to the additional phase information. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the multi-polarized and fully polarimetric L-band airborne SAR-R99B data, in terms of their capability to distinguish among different agricultural crops in the western part of Bahia State, Brazil. Emphasis was given to coffee, cotton and pasture crops which were at well developed growing stages. Discrimination among crops was carried out using graphical analysis of mean backscatter values. Crop classification was performed for single and multiple polarizations, and fully polarimetric images with a classifier that uses the contextual Iterated Conditional Modes–ICM algorithm. The investigation confirmed the potential of L-band multi-polarized and polarimetric airborne SAR-R99B data to distinguish and classify agricultural crops in the tropical condition of the test-site. In addition, it clearly indicated the gradual and considerable improvement that was achieved going from single to three polarizations and from multi-polarized to fully polarimetric images.     

Land use change analysis of Bharatpur district using GIS

Knowledge on area and distribution of land uses plays an important role in district planning. An attempt has been made here to study existing land use pattern and changes in the land use pattern of Bharatpur district. Multi-date remote sensing data (1986 and 1989) has been used for the purpose. Seventeen land use maps on 1∶50,000 scale were prepared. ARC/INFO GIS package has been employed for the land use analysis. GIS package has also been used to relate the land use information to the villages and arrive at tentative comparison of land use as is reported in Census and as obtained from the remote sensing. Major findings in land use pattern of Bharatpur district are a) that the land use pattern in Bharatpur district is not similar to that of general land use pattern prevalent in Rajasthan State as a whole, b) Agriculture is the predominant user of land occupying about 75 percent of the reporting area, c) Forest cover in the district is not very significant and it has been depleted from 5.6 percent to 3.1 percent, d) the area under pastures and tree crops is also negligible and e) Area under waste land (eroded land, undulating terrain with or without scrub and rock out crops has been increased from 6.34 percent to 7.89 percent. The area under salt affected land, sandy area and water logged area has been decreased from 6.83 percent to 2.09 percent.     

大兴安岭林区无人机可见光影像散发枯立木识别算法

枯立木识别对森林资源管理,生物多样性保护,以及森林碳储量变化评估具有重要价值.无人机高分辨率影像为枯立木调查提供了较为便捷的方式.现有枯立木识别算法多依靠拥有红边、近红外波段的多光谱影像来实现.相比于多光谱相机,消费级无人机通常搭载的是用于获取可见光(RGB)影像的普通数码相机,较少的波段信息为基于RGB影像的枯立木自...     

Markov-random-field-based super-resolution mapping for identification of urban trees in VHR images

Identification of tree crowns from remote sensing requires detailed spectral information and submeter spatial resolution imagery. Traditional pixel-based classification techniques do not fully exploit the spatial and spectral characteristics of remote sensing datasets. We propose a contextual and probabilistic method for detection of tree crowns in urban areas using a Markov random field based super resolution mapping (SRM) approach in very high resolution images. Our method defines an objective energy function in terms of the conditional probabilities of panchromatic and multispectral images and it locally optimizes the labeling of tree crown pixels. Energy and model parameter values are estimated from multiple implementations of SRM in tuning areas and the method is applied in QuickBird images to produce a 0.6 m tree crown map in a city of The Netherlands. The SRM output shows an identification rate of 66% and commission and omission errors in small trees and shrub areas. The method outperforms tree crown identification results obtained with maximum likelihood, support vector machines and SRM at nominal resolution (2.4 m) approaches.     

遥感技术在林果种植区调查中的应用研究

利用遥感技术可以准确、快捷地获取各类林果种植信息,为林果农业种植结构调整、产业发展提供科学依据。本文选择阿克苏市及温宿县为研究区,以ALOS、HJ等卫星数据为主要信息源,采用林果光谱特征分析、地物反射率分析、地物植被指数分析、林果影像特征分析等方法进行林果种植区、种类、树龄的遥感解译识别。经过实地验证和精度的分析与评价,得到的林果种植信息具有较高的精度,能解决实际中的部分应用问题。     

Individual tree crown delineation using localized contour tree method and airborne LiDAR data in coniferous forests

Individual tree crown delineation is of great importance for forest inventory and management. The increasing availability of high-resolution airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data makes it possible to delineate the crown structure of individual trees and deduce their geometric properties with high accuracy. In this study, we developed an automated segmentation method that is able to fully utilize high-resolution LiDAR data for detecting, extracting, and characterizing individual tree crowns with a multitude of geometric and topological properties. The proposed approach captures topological structure of forest and quantifies topological relationships of tree crowns by using a graph theory-based localized contour tree method, and finally segments individual tree crowns by analogy of recognizing hills from a topographic map. This approach consists of five key technical components: (1) derivation of canopy height model from airborne LiDAR data; (2) generation of contours based on the canopy height model; (3) extraction of hierarchical structures of tree crowns using the localized contour tree method; (4) delineation of individual tree crowns by segmenting hierarchical crown structure; and (5) calculation of geometric and topological properties of individual trees. We applied our new method to the Medicine Bow National Forest in the southwest of Laramie, Wyoming and the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest in the central portion of the Cascade Range of Oregon, U.S. The results reveal that the overall accuracy of individual tree crown delineation for the two study areas achieved 94.21% and 75.07%, respectively. Our method holds great potential for segmenting individual tree crowns under various forest conditions. Furthermore, the geometric and topological attributes derived from our method provide comprehensive and essential information for forest management.     

无人机遥感影像林地单株立木信息提取

针对无人机遥感技术在提取单株立木信息的限制性问题,提出一种新的自动单株立木信息提取方法。对原始无人机影像进行光谱信息增强处理以突出局部细节特征;通过引入DBI指数自动化确定K-means聚类方法的最优聚类数目,进而对影像像素进行标记;通过利用高斯马尔可夫随机场模型进一步对影像进行分割;使用数学形态学算子等方法对分割结果进行后处理得到单株立木树冠信息,通过图像几何矩原理计算得到单株立木位置以作为其识别的依据。结果表明,应用该提取方法,油松林区和樟子松林区单株立木识别总体精度分别为89.52%和95.65%、单木树冠提取精度分别为81.90%和95.65%,均具有较好地适用性。该方法不需要大量的人工干预和先验知识的输入,大大提高提取方法的自动化程度。     

A preliminary exploration of the cooling effect of tree shade in urban landscapes

Mitigating urban heat island (UHI) effects, especially under climate change, is necessary for the promotion of urban sustainability. Shade is one of the most important functions provided by urban trees for mitigating UHI. However, the cooling effect of tree shade has not been adequately investigated. In this study, we used a simple and straightforward method to quantify the spatial and temporal variation of tree shade and examined its effect on land surface temperature (LST). We used the hillshade function in a geographic information system to quantify the spatiotemporal patterns of tree shade by integrating sun location and tree height. Relationships between shade and LST were then compared in two cities, Tampa, Florida and New York City (NYC), New York. We found that: (1) Hillshade function combining the sun location and tree height can accurately capture the spatial and temporal variation of tree shade; (2) Tree shade, particularly at 07:30, has significant cooling effect on LST in Tampa and NYC; and (3) Shade has a stronger cooling effect in Tampa than in NYC, which is most likely due to the differences in the ratio of tree canopy to impervious surface cover, the spatial arrangements of trees and buildings, and their relative heights. Comparing the cooling effects of tree shade in two cities, this study provides important insights for urban planners for UHI mitigation in different cities.     

Lineament identification for groundwater drilling in a hard-rock terrain of Sirohi district,western Rajasthan

In hard-rock terrain under semi-arid climatic zone of western Rajasthan, prospective groundwater zones are poorly defined. The area of Sirohi district studied is regarded as a critical zone for tubewell siting. The present study involves delineation of lineaments on spaceborne and airborne data and their identification in field. Lineaments are identified with surface and subsurface geological features for selection of drilling sites. The study has resulted in 100 percent high-yielding exploratory wells in the area. Identical results obtained in their respective observation wells reaffirm utility of the approach adopted.     

Mapping trees in high resolution imagery across large areas using locally variable thresholds guided by medium resolution tree maps

Large area tree maps, important for environmental monitoring and natural resource management, are often based on medium resolution satellite imagery. These data have difficulty in detecting trees in fragmented woodlands, and have significant omission errors in modified agricultural areas. High resolution imagery can better detect these trees, however, as most high resolution imagery is not normalised it is difficult to automate a tree classification method over large areas. The method developed here used an existing medium resolution map derived from either Landsat or SPOT5 satellite imagery to guide the classification of the high resolution imagery. It selected a spatially-variable threshold on the green band, calculated based on the spatially-variable percentage of trees in the existing map of tree cover. The green band proved more consistent at classifying trees across different images than several common band combinations. The method was tested on 0.5 m resolution imagery from airborne digital sensor (ADS) imagery across New South Wales (NSW), Australia using both Landsat and SPOT5 derived tree maps to guide the threshold selection. Accuracy was assessed across 6 large image mosaics revealing a more accurate result when the more accurate tree map from SPOT5 imagery was used. The resulting maps achieved an overall accuracy with 95% confidence intervals of 93% (90–95%), while the overall accuracy of the previous SPOT5 tree map was 87% (86–89%). The method reduced omission errors by mapping more scattered trees, although it did increase commission errors caused by dark pixels from water, building shadows, topographic shadows, and some soils and crops. The method allows trees to be automatically mapped at 5 m resolution from high resolution imagery, provided a medium resolution tree map already exists.     

Synthetic RapidEye data used for the detection of area-based spruce tree mortality induced by bark beetles

Tree mortality caused by outbreaks of the bark beetle Ips typographus (L.) plays an important role in the natural dynamics of Norway spruce (Picea abies L.) stands, which could cause far-reaching changes in the occurrence and duration of vegetation phenology. Field-based early detection of tree disturbances is hampered by logistic, terrain, and technical shortcomings, and by the inability to continuously monitor disturbances over large areas. Despite achievements in remote mapping of bark-beetle-induced tree mortalities, early warning has been mostly unsuccessful mainly because of the lack of spectral sensitivity and discrepancies in definitions of field- and image-based disturbance classes. Here we applied a method based on inter-annual phenology of Norway spruce stands derived from synthetic multispectral data to part of the Bavarian Forest National Park in Germany. We fused temporally continuous Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer and discrete RapidEye data using a flexible spatiotemporal data fusion method to achieve validated 8-day RapidEye-like composites of normalized difference vegetation index for 2011. We assumed that the dead trees delineated on 2012 aerial photographs were those in which bark beetle infestations were initiated in 2011. Samples were drawn with variable-sized buffering to represent the areas prone to infestations and their surroundings. We applied a conditional inference random forest to select the best image date among the entire 46 synthetic datasets to best discriminate between the core infestation patches and their surroundings from the subsequent year. Of the discrete time points identified, day 281 of the year represented the highest discrepancy between aerial image-based dead trees and their surroundings. Classification results were significantly correlated with beetle count data obtained using pheromone traps. Our method provided valuable information for management purposes and enabled wall-to-wall mapping of stands prone to infestation and its uncertainty. The results offer potential implications for rapid and cost-effective monitoring of bark beetle outbreaks using satellite data, which would be of great benefit for both management and research tasks.     

基于GIS的族谱空间信息查询与可视化研究

族谱是一个家族的生命史,记录家族的起源和发展,具有很大的研究价值。如何实现族谱空间信息化,是GIS社会化研究领域的一个重要课题。文中选择河南省域内某模拟族谱作为研究对象,运用GIS技术整合海量族谱数据,建立地图空间数据库和家族成员基本信息表,以ArcGIS Engine 9.3、SQL Server为平台,开发族谱GIS信息系统,实现族谱空间查询及家族成员迁徙路线可视化等功能。族谱GIS信息系统为族谱研究提供新的思路、方法和技术。     

应用面向对象的决策树模型提取橡胶林信息

橡胶林的无序和不合理种植引发了一系列的生态问题,快速监测橡胶林空间分布及动态变化,对橡胶的合理种植、区域生态环境保护以及有关部门的规划决策有重要的指导意义。以MODIS归一化植被指数NDVI时间序列数据和多时相的Landsat TM数据为基础分析橡胶林的季相和光谱特征,确定橡胶识别的关键时期和特征参数,构建面向对象的决策树分类模型,开展橡胶信息提取研究。结果表明,多时相的遥感数据可反映橡胶的季相特征,以TM数据为基础计算得到的陆表水分指数LSWI和归一化植被指数NDVI可作为橡胶识别的光谱特征参数,橡胶休眠期是利用遥感方法进行橡胶提取的最佳时期。相比于单时相数据,利用包含橡胶关键物候期的多时相遥感数据能得到更高的橡胶林提取精度。     

Combining QuickBird,LiDAR, and GIS topography indices to identify a single native tree species in a complex landscape using an object-based classification approach

There are now a wide range of techniques that can be combined for image analysis. These include the use of object-based classifications rather than pixel-based classifiers, the use of LiDAR to determine vegetation height and vertical structure, as well terrain variables such as topographic wetness index and slope that can be calculated using GIS. This research investigates the benefits of combining these techniques to identify individual tree species. A QuickBird image and low point density LiDAR data for a coastal region in New Zealand was used to examine the possibility of mapping Pohutukawa trees which are regarded as an iconic tree in New Zealand. The study area included a mix of buildings and vegetation types. After image and LiDAR preparation, single tree objects were identified using a range of techniques including: a threshold of above ground height to eliminate ground based objects; Normalised Difference Vegetation Index and elevation difference between the first and last return of LiDAR data to distinguish vegetation from buildings; geometric information to separate clusters of trees from single trees, and treetop identification and region growing techniques to separate tree clusters into single tree crowns. Important feature variables were identified using Random Forest, and the Support Vector Machine provided the classification. The combined techniques using LiDAR and spectral data produced an overall accuracy of 85.4% (Kappa 80.6%). Classification using just the spectral data produced an overall accuracy of 75.8% (Kappa 67.8%). The research findings demonstrate how the combining of LiDAR and spectral data improves classification for Pohutukawa trees.     

渝西地区多时期地表覆盖遥感信息提取

近年来,随着遥感技术的不断发展,利用遥感技术开展土地覆盖信息的提取工作已经变得越来越普遍。本文主要利用遥感技术进行土地覆盖信息的提取,为后续土地信息的分析调查提供了有利的数据。此次研究选取了渝西地区作为研究区,使用TM／ETM遥感图像作为基础数据。在提取覆盖信息之前,首先,采用遥感图像处理技术,对研究区进行了图像预处理;接着,对研究区四种地类进行采样处理,利用得到的采样数据,对研究区的遥感图像进行了光谱分析;最后,进行监督分类得到覆盖信息的明显特征,可以看出建筑用地在明显增多。并对分类结果进行精度评价,得到最后结论,可以看出每一时期的总分类精度都在85％以上,符合分类要求。     

胶东半岛果园TM影像信息的提取决策树方法

本文选取胶东半岛最具代表性的5个果品县(市)为研究区,以Landsat TM影像数据为分类影像,尝试提取果园信息。选用可以"无缝"融入多种辅助信息的决策树分类方法,综合NDVI、地形地貌和缨帽变换等多种辅助信息,利用年内物候变化最大的果园与背景地物的光谱差异,进行果园信息提取;利用SPOT影像以及野外考察资料作为检验样本进行精度验证。表明综合多种辅助信息,利用决策树分类法提取TM影像果园信息可行且准确性较高。     

Assessing Worldview-3 multispectral imaging abilities to map the tree diversity in semi-arid parklands

Semi-arid parkland agrosystems are strongly sensitive to climate change and anthropic pressure. In the context of sustainability research, trees are considered critical for various ecosystem services covering environment quality as well as food security and health. But their actual ecological impact on both cropland and natural vegetation is not well understood yet, and collecting spatial and structural information around agroforestry systems is becoming an important issue. Tree mapping in semi-arid parklands could be one of these prerequisites. While for obtaining an exhaustive inventory of individual trees and for analysing their spatial distribution, remote sensing is the ideal tool. However, it has been noted that depending on the spatial resolution and sensor spectral characteristics, tree species cannot be distinguished clearly, even in the sparsely vegetated semi-arid ecosystems of West Africa. Thus, this work focuses on assessing the capabilities of Worldview-3 imagery, acquired in 8 spectral bands, to detect, delineate, and identify certain key tree species in the Faidherbia albida parkland in Bambey, Senegal, based on a ground-truth database corresponding to 5000 trees. The tree crowns are delineated through NDVI thresholding and consecutive filtering to provide object-based radiometric signatures, radiometric indices, and textural information. A factorial discriminant analysis is then performed, which indicates that only four out of the seven most abundant species in the study area can be discriminated: “Faidherbia albida”,” Azadirachta indica”, “Balanites aegyptiaca” and “Tamarindus indica”. Next, random forest and support vector machine classifiers are employed to identify the optimal combination of classifier parameters to discriminate these classes with a high accuracy, robustness, and stability. The linear support vector machine with cost=1 and gamma=0.01 provides the optimal results with a global accuracy of 88 % and kappa of 0.71. This classifier is applied to the whole study area to map all the trees with crowns larger than 2 m, sorted in four identified species and a fifth common group of unidentified species. This map thus enables analysing the variability in tree density and the spatial distribution of different species. Such information can afterwards be correlated to the ecological functioning of the parkland and local practices, and offers promising opportunities to help future sustainability initiatives in different socio-ecological contexts.     

结合多光谱影像降维与深度学习的城市单木树冠检测

多光谱数据的降维处理对基于深度学习的单木树冠检测研究有重要意义,如何使用合适的降维方法以提高单木检测的精度却少有研究讨论。本文使用无人机搭载多光谱相机进行航拍作业,采集研究区内银杏树种多光谱影像。将原始多光谱影像通过特征波段选择、特征提取、波段组合的方法生成5种不同的数据集用于训练3种经典的深度学习网络FPN-Faster-R-CNN,YOLOv3,Faster R-CNN。其中由波段组合方法得到的近红外、红色、绿色波段组合在不同类型的目标检测网络中都有最好的检测结果,其中FPN-Faster-R-CNN网络对银杏树冠的检测精度最高为88.4%,由OIF指标得到的蓝色、红色、近红外波段组合信息量最高,但在所有网络中的平均检测精度最低,仅为79.3%。实验结果表明：在不同波段降维方法中,若降维后的影像中目标物体的色彩与背景差异较明显,且轮廓清晰,则深度学习网络对树冠的检测可获得较好的结果。而影像自身的信息量则对深度学习网络的树冠检测能力的提升作用有限。本研究中针对多光谱影像的降维方法分析,为基于深度学习的单木树冠检测研究提供了重要的实验参考。     

监督分类和目视修改相结合在高分辨率遥感影像中的应用

用计算机对遥感影像进行地物类型识别是遥感数字图像处理的一个重要内容,传统的地物分类一般采用MSS、TM和Spot等遥感影像作为数据源。与MSS、TM和Spot等传统遥感影像相比,QuickBird等高分辨率影像数据量大,混合像元减少、地物信息增大,能够被应用于土地分类。在监督分类中,对于达不到精度要求的模板,通常采用重新选择训练区的方法来进行修正,而本文采用目视修改的方法来对监督分类进行补充。本文方法可以改正初次分类中的误分、混分地物,使其归到正确的地物分类中,显著提高了土地分类的精度。为了验证算法的有效性,利用ERDASIMAGING遥感图像处理软件进行实验和精度评价。实验结果表明,监督分类和目视修改相结合的地物分类方法可以显著提高图像的分类精度。     

深度学习的街景行道树自动识别提取研究

针对城市行道树调查中,街景影像背景环境复杂多变、行道树个体差异大,依靠目视判读费时费力的问题,该文基于车载移动测量系统采集的全景影像数据,利用深度学习算法,在快速区域卷积神经网络的目标检测方法基础上,建立适用于街景行道树检测的深度神经网络模型。模型采用基于共有显著性区域及冗余策略的行道树多示例目标候选区域选择方法,使用车载图像的几何约束进一步筛选合适的候选区域,从而实现行道树目标候选区域的统一选择,提升行道树目标的检测效果。实验结果表明,该文提出的方法能够实现多种行道树的准确自动识别与提取,进而大大降低行道树绿化调查的成本。