scholarly journals Identifying European Old-Growth Forests using Remote Sensing: A Study in the Ukrainian Carpathians

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benedict D. Spracklen ◽  
Dominick V. Spracklen
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Random Forest ◽  
Norway Spruce ◽  
Satellite Images ◽  
Textural Features ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Random Forest Classification ◽  
Forest Classification ◽  
Old Growth Forests ◽  
Sentinel 2

Old-growth forests are an important, rare and endangered habitat in Europe. The ability to identify old-growth forests through remote sensing would be helpful for both conservation and forest management. We used data on beech, Norway spruce and mountain pine old-growth forests in the Ukrainian Carpathians to test whether Sentinel-2 satellite images could be used to correctly identify these forests. We used summer and autumn 2017 Sentinel-2 satellite images comprising 10 and 20 m resolution bands to create 6 vegetation indices and 9 textural features. We used a Random Forest classification model to discriminate between dominant tree species within old-growth forests and between old-growth and other forest types. Beech and Norway spruce were identified with an overall accuracy of around 90%, with a lower performance for mountain pine (70%) and mixed forest (40%). Old-growth forests were identified with an overall classification accuracy of 85%. Adding textural features, band standard deviations and elevation data improved accuracies by 3.3%, 2.1% and 1.8% respectively, while using combined summer and autumn images increased accuracy by 1.2%. We conclude that Random Forest classification combined with Sentinel-2 images can provide an effective option for identifying old-growth forests in Europe.

scholarly journals Estimation of Wheat Area using Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 Datasets (A Comparative Analysis)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayesha Behzad ◽  
Muneeb Aamir ◽  
Syed Ahmed Raza ◽  
Ansab Qaiser ◽  
Syeda Yuman Fatima ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Random Forest ◽  
Water Body ◽  
Supervised Classification ◽  
Wheat Crop ◽  
Random Forest Classification ◽  
Forest Classification ◽  
Wheat Cultivation ◽  
Erdas Imagine ◽  
Sentinel 2

Wheat is the basic staple food, largely grown, widely used and highly demanded. It is used in multiple food products which are served as fundamental constituent to human body. Various regional economies are partially or fully dependent upon wheat production. Estimation of wheat area is essential to predict its contribution in regional economy. This study presents a comparative analysis of optical and active imagery for estimation of area under wheat cultivation. Sentinel-1 data was downloaded in Ground Range Detection (GRD) format and applied the Random Forest Classification using Sentinel Application Platform (SNAP) tools. We obtained a Sentinel-2 image for the month of March and applied supervised classification in Erdas Imagine 14. The random forest classification results of Sentinel-1 show that the total area under investigation was 1089km2 which was further subdivided in three classes including wheat (551km2), built-up (450 km2) and the water body (89 km2). Supervised classification results of Sentinel-2 data show that the area under wheat crop was 510 km2, however the built-up and waterbody were 477 km2, 102 km2 respectively. The integrated map of Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 show that the area under wheat was 531 km2 and the other features including water body and the built-up area were 95 km2 and 463 km2 respectively. We applied a Kappa coefficient to Sentinel-2, Sentinel-1 and Integrated Maps and found an accuracy of 71%, 78% and 85% respectively. We found that remotely sensed algorithms of classifications are reliable for future predictions.

Predicting the outcrop of pre-Quaternary formations in the Dorog Basin (Hungary) using random forest classification

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reka Pogacsas ◽  
Gaspar Albert
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Random Forest ◽  
Slope Angle ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Training Data ◽  
Topographic Wetness Index ◽  
Unique Region ◽  
Random Forest Classification ◽  
Forest Classification ◽  
Geological Map

<p>The Dorog Basin is a morphologically unique region of the Transdanubian Mountains revealing the combined work of tectonic forces and erosion. Overprinted by the forms of fluvial erosion, numerous NW-SE striking half-graben and horst structures are present. The surface is dominantly covered by lose 1–15 m thick Quaternary sediments (aeolian loess, and siliciclastic alluvial and coluvial formations), while the lithified bedrock consists of Mesozoic carbonates, Paleogene limestones, marls and sandstones and limnic coal sequences. The rheological difference of the Quaternary and pre-Quaternary formations is so pronounced that the morphological characteristics of the outcrops also differ significantly. The area was in the focus of geologists for many decades, due to its Eocene coal beds, and a renewal of the geological map of the region is in progress. The current research aims to assist the mapping with multivariate methods based on geomorphological attributes, such as slope angle, aspect, profile curvature, height, and topographic wetness index. We perform a random forest classification (RFC) using these variables, to predict the outcrops of pre-Quaternary formations in the study area.</p><p>Random forest is a powerful tool for multivariate classification that uses several decision trees, each one with a prediction, where the most popular one will be the overall result [1]. The reason why it is getting popular in spatial predictions is the high accuracy to classify raster-type objects [2]. We used raster-type spatial data as subject of RFC predicting a result for each pixel. The geology of the study area was known from previous geological mapping [3]. Morphological information was derived from the MERIT DEM.</p><p>Our model used a raster with multiple bands containing geomorphological variables, and training data from the digitalized geological map. The number of random samples of data was 2500. After testing several combinations of the bands, and several spacing of the study areas, the best prediction has cca. 80% accuracy. Model validation is based on the calculation of rates of well predicted pixels in the same rasterized geological map that was used for training. Our aim was to use exact data, which is completely true for remotely sensed images, but not for geological maps. That means the accuracy still can be improved by field perception, or from borehole data.</p><p> </p><p>References:</p><p>[1] Liaw, A., & Wiener, M. (2002). Classification and regression by randomForest. R news, 2(3), 18-22.</p><p>[2] Belgiu, M., & Drăguţ, L. (2016). Random forest in remote sensing: A review of applications and future directions. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 114, 24-31.</p><p>[3] Gidai, L., Nagy, G., & Siposs, Z. (1981). Geological map of the Dorog Basin 1: 25 000. [in Hungarian] Geological Institute of Hungary, Budapest.</p>

scholarly journals Application of random forest classification and remotely sensed data in geological mapping on the Jebel Meloussi area (Tunisia)

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (21) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gáspár Albert ◽  
Seif Ammar
Keyword(s):  
Random Forest ◽  
Remotely Sensed ◽  
Geological Mapping ◽  
Vegetation Coverage ◽  
Remotely Sensed Data ◽  
Random Forest Classification ◽  
Radar Images ◽  
Forest Classification ◽  
Geological Map ◽  
Sentinel 2

Abstract Remotely sensed data such as satellite photos and radar images can be used to produce geological maps on arid regions, where the vegetation coverage does not have a significant effect. In central Tunisia, the Jebel Meloussi area has unique geological features and characteristic morphology (i.e. flat areas with dune fields in contrast with hills of folded and eroded stratigraphic sequences), which makes it an ideal area for testing new methods of automatic terrain classification. For this, data from the Sentinel 2 satellite sensor and the SRTM-based MERIT DEM (digital elevation model) were used in the present study. Using R scripts and the random forest classification method, modelling was performed on four lithological variables—derived from the different bands of the Sentinel 2 images—and two morphometric parameters for the area of the 1:50,000 geological map sheet no. 103. The four lithological variables were chosen to highlight the iron-bearing minerals since the spectral parameters of the Sentinel 2 sensors are especially useful for this purpose. The training areas of the classification were selected on the geological map. The results of the modelling identified Eocene and Cretaceous evaporite-bearing sedimentary series (such as the Jebs and the Bouhedma Formations) with the highest producer accuracy (> 60% of the predicted pixels match with the map). The pyritic argillites of the Sidi Khalif Formation were also recognized with the same accuracy, and the Quaternary sebhkas and dunes were also well predicted. The study concludes that the classification-based geological map is useful for field geologist prior to field surveys.

scholarly journals Analysis of Combining SAR and Optical Optimal Parameters to Classify Typhoon-Invasion Lodged Rice: A Case Study Using the Random Forest Method

Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (24) ◽  
pp. 7346
Author(s):  
Jinning Wang ◽  
Kun Li ◽  
Yun Shao ◽  
Fengli Zhang ◽  
Zhiyong Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Random Forest ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
Spectral Indices ◽  
Optimal Parameters ◽  
Random Forest Classification ◽  
Forest Classification ◽  
Typhoon Event ◽  
Sentinel 2

Lodging, a commonly occurring rice crop disaster, seriously reduces rice quality and production. Monitoring rice lodging after a typhoon event is essential for evaluating yield loss and formulating suitable remedial policies. The availability of Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 open-access remote sensing data provides large-scale information with a short revisit time to be freely accessed. Data from these sources have been previously shown to identify lodged crops. In this study, therefore, Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 data after a typhoon event were combined to enable monitoring of lodging rice to be quickly undertaken. In this context, the sensitivity of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) features (SF) and spectral indices (SI) extracted from Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 to lodged rice were analyzed, and a model was constructed for selecting optimal sensitive parameters for lodging rice (OSPL). OSPL has high sensitivity to lodged rice and strong ability to distinguish lodged rice from healthy rice. After screening, Band 11 (SWIR-1) and Band 12 (SWIR-2) were identified as optimal spectral indices (OSI), and VV, VV + VH and Shannon Entropy were optimal SAR features (OSF). Three classification results of lodging rice were acquired using the Random Forest classification (RFC) method based on OSI, OSF and integrated OSI–OSF stack images, respectively. Results indicate that an overall level of accuracy of 91.29% was achieved with the combination of SAR and optical optimal parameters. The result was 2.91% and 6.05% better than solely using optical or SAR processes, respectively.

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