Forest species mapping using airborne hyperspectral APEX data

Abstract The accurate mapping of forest species is a very important task in relation to the increasing need to better understand the role of the forest ecosystem within environmental dynamics. The objective of this paper is the investigation of the potential of a multi-temporal hyperspectral dataset for the production of a thematic map of the dominant species in the Forêt de Hardt (France). Hyperspectral data were collected in June and September 2013 using the Airborne Prism EXperiment (APEX) sensor, covering the visible, near-infrared and shortwave infrared spectral regions with a spatial resolution of 3 m by 3 m. The map was realized by means of a maximum likelihood supervised classification. The classification was first performed separately on images from June and September and then on the two images together. Class discrimination was performed using as input 3 spectral indices computed as ratios between red edge bands and a blue band for each image. The map was validated using a testing set selected on the basis of a random stratified sampling scheme. Results showed that the algorithm performances improved from an overall accuracy of 59.5% and 48% (for the June and September images, respectively) to an overall accuracy of 74.4%, with the producer’s accuracy ranging from 60% to 86% and user’s accuracy ranging from 61% to 90%, when both images (June and September) were combined. This study demonstrates that the use of multi-temporal high-resolution images acquired in two different vegetation development stages (i.e., 17 June 2013 and 4 September 2013) allows accurate (overall accuracy 74.4%) local-scale thematic products to be obtained in an operational way.

[1]  Aniruddha Ghosh,et al.  A framework for mapping tree species combining hyperspectral and LiDAR data: Role of selected classifiers and sensor across three spatial scales , 2014, Int. J. Appl. Earth Obs. Geoinformation.

[2]  S. Franklin Remote Sensing for Sustainable Forest Management , 2001 .

[3]  John R. Miller,et al.  Land cover mapping at BOREAS using red edge spectral parameters from CASI imagery , 1999 .

[4]  Moses Azong Cho,et al.  Mapping tree species composition in South African savannas using an integrated airborne spectral and LiDAR system , 2012 .

[5]  G. F. Hughes,et al.  On the mean accuracy of statistical pattern recognizers , 1968, IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory.

[6]  Heiko Balzter,et al.  Mapping Tree Species in Coastal Portugal Using Statistically Segmented Principal Component Analysis and Other Methods , 2014, IEEE Sensors Journal.

[7]  D. Roberts,et al.  Urban tree species mapping using hyperspectral and lidar data fusion , 2014 .

[8]  D. Horler,et al.  The red edge of plant leaf reflectance , 1983 .

[9]  D. Roberts,et al.  Hyperspectral discrimination of tropical rain forest tree species at leaf to crown scales , 2005 .

[10]  L. Bruzzone,et al.  Tree species classification in the Southern Alps based on the fusion of very high geometrical resolution multispectral/hyperspectral images and LiDAR data , 2012 .

[11]  N. Coops,et al.  Assessing the utility of airborne hyperspectral and LiDAR data for species distribution mapping in the coastal Pacific Northwest, Canada , 2010 .

[12]  Marcos J. Montes,et al.  Refinement of wavelength calibrations of hyperspectral imaging data using a spectrum-matching technique , 2004 .

[13]  L. Boschetti,et al.  Tree species mapping with Airborne hyperspectral MIVIS data : the Ticino Park study , 2022 .

[14]  Gregory Asner,et al.  Mapping Savanna Tree Species at Ecosystem Scales Using Support Vector Machine Classification and BRDF Correction on Airborne Hyperspectral and LiDAR Data , 2012, Remote. Sens..

[15]  David E. Knapp,et al.  Operational Tree Species Mapping in a Diverse Tropical Forest with Airborne Imaging Spectroscopy , 2015, PloS one.

[16]  John R. Miller,et al.  Boreal forest mapping at the BOREAS study area using seasonal optical indices sensitive to plant pigment content , 2008 .

[17]  J. Peñuelas,et al.  The red edge position and shape as indicators of plant chlorophyll content, biomass and hydric status. , 1994 .

[18]  M. Rossini,et al.  Chlorophyll concentration mapping with MIVIS data to assess crown discoloration in the Ticino Park oak forest , 2010 .

[19]  Michele Dalponte,et al.  Tree Species Classification in Boreal Forests With Hyperspectral Data , 2013, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[20]  Lorenzo Bruzzone,et al.  Fusion of Hyperspectral and LIDAR Remote Sensing Data for Classification of Complex Forest Areas , 2008, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[21]  K. Meuleman,et al.  Mapping vegetation communities of the Karkonosze National Park using APEX hyperspectral data and Support Vector Machines , 2014 .