The use of landscape pattern metrics in remote sensing image classification

This letter demonstrates the utility of landscape pattern metrics for increasing classification accuracy of land cover. Three examples are provided for the use of a landscape shape complexity measure in remote sensing segmentation‐based classification schemes. The examples include: (1) classification of thaw lakes on the North Slope of Alaska; (2) classification of drained basins in Alaska; and (3) classification of natural vs. anthropogenic pastures in Bolivia. In these examples the Square Pixel Metric (SqP) was applied to objects created from image segmentation to distinguish between categories that had similar spectral properties but different shape complexity values.     

Application of multitemporal Landsat data to monitor land cover changes in the Eastern Nile Delta region,Egypt

Due to the progressive increase in development of desert land in Egypt, the demand for efficient and accurate land cover change information is increasing. In this study, we apply the methodology of post‐classification change detection to map and monitor land cover change patterns related to agricultural development and urban expansion in the desert fringes of the Eastern Nile Delta region. Using a hybrid classification approach, we employ multitemporal Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM)/Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) images from 1984, 1990 and 2003 to produce three land cover/land‐use maps. Post‐classification comparison of these maps was used to obtain ‘from–to’ statistics and change detection maps. The change detection results show that agricultural development increased by 14% through the study period. The average annual rate of land reclamation during 1990–2003 (4511 ha a^?1) was comparable to that during 1984–1990 (4644 ha a^?1), reflecting a systematic national plan for desert reclamation that went into effect. We find that the increase in urbanization (by ca 21 300 ha) during 1990–2003 was predominantly due to encroachment into traditionally cultivated land at the fringes of urban centres. Our results accurately quantify the land cover changes and delineate their spatial patterns, demonstrating the utility of Landsat data in analysing landscape dynamics over time. Such information is critical for making efficient and sustainable policies for resource management.     

Fusion of multisensor multitemporal satellite data for land cover mapping

Efficient integration of remote sensing information with different temporal, spectral and spatial resolutions is important for accurate land cover mapping. A new temporal fusion classification (TFC) model is presented for land cover classification, based on statistical fusion of multitemporal satellite images. In the proposed model, the temporal dependence of multitemporal images is taken into account by estimating transition probabilities from the change pattern of a vegetation dynamics indicator (VDI). Extension of this model is applicable to Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images and integration of multisensor multitemporal satellite images, concerning both temporal attributes and reliability of multiple data sources. The feasibility of the new method is verified using multitemporal Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and ERS SAR satellite images, and experimental results show improved performance over conventional methods.     

基于遥感测量的土地覆盖景观格局多尺度研究

用景观格局指数来描述景观格局及结构特征,建立格局与过程之间的联系,是景观生态学最常用的定量化研究方法。在RS与GIS技术支持下,采用SPOT遥感图像作为数据源,对武汉东部城乡交错地带的土地覆盖景观进行计算,利用因子分析方法对37种常用的格局指数进行了选择并比较不同粒度上的差异。结果表明绝大多数景观格局指数都存在相关关系,故用一组不相互独立的景观指数描述景观格局则不具有说服力。通过因子分析我们把景观格局指数简化为3个主要的公因子:聚散性/多样性指标,面积、边缘指标和形状指标。这3大类指标的具体格局指数虽因粒度大小的变化有所改变,但在每个尺度层次上都呈现相似的特点,都能较好地表征研究区的土地覆盖特征,反映城乡交错地带的景观格局特点。通过本文的分析,我们认为,针对不同的数据类型和不同的研究区域有必要选择合适的景观格局指数来进行景观的空间格局分析。     

Land‐cover binary change detection methods for use in the moist tropical region of the Amazon: a comparative study

Many land‐cover change detection techniques have been developed; however, different conclusions about the value or appropriateness of each exist. This difference of opinion is often influenced by the landscape complexity of study areas and data used for analysis. Which method is most suitable for land‐cover change detection in Amazon tropical regions remains unclear. In this paper, 10 binary change detection methods were implemented and compared with respect to their capability to detect land‐cover change and no change conditions in moist tropical regions. They are image differencing (ID), modified image differencing (MID), a combination of image differencing and principal component analysis (IDPCA), principal component differencing (PCD), multitemporal PCA (MPCA), change vector analysis (CVA), vegetation index differencing (VID), image ratioing (IR), modified image ratioing (MIR), and a combination of image ratioing and PCA (IRPCA). Multi‐temporal Thematic Mapper (TM) data were used to conduct land‐cover binary change detection. Research results indicate that MID, PCD and ID using TM band 5 are significantly better than other binary change detection methods and they are recommended specifically for implementation in the Amazon basin.     

Trajectory analysis of land cover change in arid environment of China

Remotely sensed data have been utilized for environmental change study over the past 30 years. Large collections of remote sensing imagery have made it possible for spatio‐temporal analyses of the environment and the impact of human activities. This research attempts to develop both conceptual framework and methodological implementation for land cover change detection based on medium and high spatial resolution imagery and temporal trajectory analysis. Multi‐temporal and multi‐scale remotely sensed data have been integrated from various sources with a monitoring time frame of 30 years, including historical and state‐of‐the‐art high‐resolution satellite imagery. Based on this, spatio‐temporal patterns of environmental change, which is largely represented by changes in land cover (e.g., vegetation and water), were analysed for the given timeframe. Multi‐scale and multi‐temporal remotely sensed data, including Landsat MSS, TM, ETM and SPOT HRV, were used to detect changes in land cover in the past 30 years in Tarim River, Xinjiang, China. The study shows that by using the auto‐classification approach an overall accuracy of 85–90% with a Kappa coefficient of 0.66–0.78 was achieved for the classification of individual images. The temporal trajectory of land‐use change was established and its spatial pattern was analysed to gain a better understanding of the human impact on the fragile ecosystem of China's arid environment.     

Effects of land‐use categorization on landscape metrics: A case study in urban landscape of Shenzhen,China

Using remotely sensed data, landscape pattern analysis based on landscape metrics has been one of the major topics of landscape ecology, and more attention has been focused on the effects of spatial scale and the accuracy of remotely sensed data on landscape metrics. However, few studies have been conducted to assess the change of landscape metrics under the influence of land‐use categorization. In this paper, we took the Bao'an district of Shenzhen city as the study area, to analyse how land‐use categorization would influence changes in 24 landscape metrics. The results showed a significant influence, and based on the characteristics of the response curves of landscape metrics associated with the change in land‐use categorization in regression analysis, and the predictability of these relations, the 24 landscape metrics fell into three groups. (1) Type I included 12 landscape metrics, and showed a strong predictability with changing of land‐use categorization with simple function relations in regression analysis. (2) Type II included seven indices, and exhibited complicated behaviours against changing of land‐use categorization. The response curves of these metrics, which were not easy to predict, consisted of two subsections and could not be described by a single function. (3) Type III included five indices, and showed unpredictable behaviours against the change of the land‐use categorization. Their response curves could not be described by a certain function. This study highlights the need for the analysis of effects of land‐use categorization on landscape metrics so as to clearly quantify landscape patterns, and provides insights into the selection of landscape metrics for comparative research on a given area under different land‐use categorizations.     

Impacts of Urban land surface temperature on tract landscape pattern,physical and social variables

ABSTRACT

This paper first focuses on the study of the relationship between the urban heat island (UHI) and the selected physical variables (percentage of urban surface covers, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)) and social variables (population density (PDEN)), and then concentrates on the study of the relationship between UHI and the landscape spatial geometric patterns. The researched results discover that urban Land Surface Temperature (LST) is not only impacted by land cover composition, i.e. land use/cover, which is expressed in this paper as the PURB (commerce/industry/transportation), but also its spatial geometric configuration, i.e. various landscape geometric pattern metrics, which in this paper are expressed by compositional percentage of landscape area (PLAND), configurational edge density (ED), patch density (PD), landscape shape index (LSI), clumpiness index (CI), and Shannon’s diversity index (SHDI). The results show that the proportion of vegetation coverage out of a tract impacts its contribution to an entire UHI in Washington District of Columbia (DC), in particular, interspersing vegetation within a tract is capable of making a stronger mitigation effect to UHI than its concentrated form. Thus, a scatter spatial arrangement and distribution of vegetation is proposed to mitigate UHI effect.     

Spatial, spectral and temporal patterns of tropical forest cover change as observed with multiple scales of optical satellite data

This article describes the development of a methodology for scaling observations of changes in tropical forest cover to large areas at high temporal frequency from coarse resolution satellite imagery. The approach for estimating proportional forest cover change as a continuous variable is based on a regression model that relates multispectral, multitemporal MODIS data, transformed to optimize the spectral detection of vegetation changes, to reference change data sets derived from a Landsat data record for a study site in Central America. A number of issues involved in model development are addressed here by exploring the spatial, spectral and temporal patterns of forest cover change as manifested in a time-series of multi-scale satellite imagery.The analyses highlighted the distinct spectral change patterns from year-to-year in response to the possible land cover trajectories of forest clearing, regeneration and changes in climatic and land cover conditions. Spectral response in the MODIS Calibrated Radiances Swath data set followed more closely with the expected patterns of forest cover change than did the spectral response in the Gridded Surface Reflectance product. With forest cover change patterns relatively invariant to the spatial grain size of the analysis, the model results indicate that the best spectral metrics for detecting tropical forest clearing and regeneration are those that incorporate shortwave infrared information from the MODIS calibrated radiances data set at 500-m resolution, with errors ranging from 7.4 to 10.9% across the time periods of analysis.     

Validating land change models based on configuration disagreement

Land change models are increasingly being employed to predict future landscapes and influence policy and decision-making. To ensure the highest model accuracy, validation methods have become commonplace following a land change simulation. The most common validation method employed uses quantity and allocation disagreement. However, these current measures may not account for differences in the configurations of land change, placing them in potential conflict with the principals of heterogeneity and spatial patterning of landscape ecology. We develop a new metric, termed configuration disagreement, designed to focus on the size, shape, and complexity of land change simulations. Using this metric, we demonstrate the value of including errors of configuration disagreement – in addition to quantity and allocation error – in the assessment of land change models. Four computational experiments of land change that vary only in spatial pattern are developed using the FUTURES land change model. For each experiment, configuration disagreement and the traditional validation metrics are computed simultaneously. Results indicate that models validated only with consideration of quantity and allocation error may misrepresent, or not fully account for, spatial patterns of landscape change. The research objective will ultimately guide which component, or components, of model disagreement are most critical for consideration. Yet, our work reveals why it may be more helpful to validate simulations in terms of configuration accuracy. Specifically, if a study requires accurately modeling the spatial patterns and arrangements of land cover. Configuration disagreement could add critical information with respect to a model's simulated changes in size, shape, and spatial arrangements, and possibly enhance ecologically meaningful land change science.     

The use of temporal metrics for land cover change detection at coarse spatial scales

Successful land cover change analysis requires selection of an appropriate set of variables for measuring and characterizing change. Coarse spatial resolution satellite sensors offer the advantage of frequent coverage of large areas and this facilitates the monitoring of surface processes. Fine spatial resolution satellite sensors provide reliable land cover information on a local basis. This work examines the ability of several temporal change metrics to detect land cover change in sub-Saharan Africa using remote sensing data collected at a coarse spatial resolution over 16 test sites for which fine spatial resolution data are available. We model change in the fine-resolution data as a function of the coarse spatial resolution metrics without regard to the type of change. Results indicate that coarse spatial resolution temporal metrics (i) relate in a statistically significant way to aggregate changes in land cover, (ii) relate more strongly to fine spatial resolution change metrics when including a measure of surface temperature instead of a vegetation index alone, and (iii) are most effective as land cover change indicators when various metrics are combined in multivariate models.     

Accuracy assessment on multi‐temporal land‐cover change detection using a trajectory error matrix

This study develops a practical methodology to assess the accuracy of multi‐temporal change detection using a trajectory error matrix (TEM). In this error matrix one axis represents the land‐cover change trajectory categories derived from single‐date classified images, and the other represents the land‐cover change trajectories identified from reference data. The overall accuracies of change trajectories and states of change/no‐change are used as indices for accuracy assessment. As the number of possible land‐cover change trajectories can be enormous, a practical processing flow for computing accuracy assessment indices has also been developed to avoid listing all possible change trajectories in the error matrix. A case study using this method was conducted to assess the accuracy of land‐cover change over a period with five observations in a study area in China's arid zone. This method simplifies the process of estimating overall accuracy in the change trajectory analysis, and provides a more realistic and detailed assessment of the results of multi‐temporal change detection using post‐classification comparison methods.     

Sensitivity of landscape metrics to pixel size

Analysis of diversity and evenness metrics using land cover data are becoming formalized in landscape ecology. Diversity and evenness metrics are dependent on the pixel size (scale) over which the data are collected. Aerial photography was interpreted for land cover and converted into four raster data sets with 4, 12, 28, and 80m pixel sizes, representing pixel sizes up to that available on Landsat-MSS. Analysis of covariance was used to determine the effect of changing pixel size on landscape metrics. The results indicate that landscape metrics should not be dramatically affected by the change in pixel size up to 80m, provided that identical land cover classifications could be generated by sensors with different spatial resolving powers (e.g. Landsat-TM and MSS).     

Simulating multiple class urban land-use/cover changes by RBFN-based CA model

Land use systems are complex adaptive systems, and they are characterized by emergence, nonlinearity, feedbacks, self organization, path dependence, adaptation, and multiple-scale characteristics. Land use/cover change has been recognized as one of the major drivers of global environmental change. This paper presents a coupled Cellular Automata (CA) and Radial Basis Function Neural (RBFN) Network model, which combines Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to contribute to the understanding of the complex land use/cover change process. In this model, GIS analysis is used to generate spatial drivers of land use/cover changes, and RBFN is trained to extract model parameters. Through the RBFN-CA model, the conversion probabilities of each cell from its initial land use state to the target type can be generated automatically. Future land use/cover scenarios are projected by using generated parameters in the model training process. This RBFN-CA model is tested based on the comparison of model output and the real data. A BPN-CA model is also built and compared with the RBFN-CA model by using a variety of calibration metrics, including confusion matrix, figure of merit, and landscape metrics. Both the location and landscape metrics based assessment for model simulation indicate that the RBFN-CA model performs better than the BPN-CA model for simulating land use changes in the study area. Therefore the RBFN-CA model is capable of simulating multiple classes of land use/cover changes and can be used as a useful communication environment for stakeholders involved in land use decision-making.     

Effects of minimum mapping unit on land cover data spatial configuration and composition

A key issue when generating a land cover map from remotely sensed data is the selection of the minimum mapping unit (MMU) to be employed, which determines the extent of detail contained in the map. This study analyses the effects of MMU in land cover spatial configuration and composition, by using simulated landscape thematic patterns generated by the Modified Random Clusters method. This approach allows a detailed control of the different factors influencing landscape metrics behaviour, as well as taking into account a wide range of land cover pattern possibilities. Land cover classes that are sparse and fragmented can be considerably misrepresented in the final map when increasing MMU, while the classes that occupy a large percentage of map area tend to become more dominant. Mean Patch Size and Number of Patches are very poor indicators of pattern fragmentation in this context. In contrast, Landscape Division (LD) and related indices (Splitting Index and Effective Mesh Size) are clearly suitable for comparing the fragmentation of landscape data with different MMUs. We suggest that the Mean Shape Index, the most sensitive to MMU of those considered in this study, should not be used in further landscape studies if land cover data with different MMU or patch size frequency distribution are to be compared. In contrast, the Area Weighted Mean Shape Index presents a very robust behaviour, which advocates the use of this index for the quantification of the overall irregularity of patch shapes in landscape spatial patterns. The results presented allow quantifying the biases resulting from selecting a certain MMU when generating a land cover dataset. In general, a bigger MMU implies underestimating landscape diversity and fragmentation, as well as over-estimating animal population dispersal success. Guidelines are provided for the proper use and comparison of spatial pattern indices measured in maps with different MMUs.     

基于格网划分的城市区域土地利用景观格局时空变化遥感监测

城市化引起的土地利用变化已成为城市问题研究热点。多时相遥感变化检测能够监测到土地利用变化的数量,被广泛地用来进行城市扩张研究。对于城市化引起的城市空间结构变化,最新研究引入景观格局分析法,大量涌现的景观指标为景观格局定量化表达提供了基础。目前对于城市化过程中景观格局时空变化的描述过于笼统,一般是对整个研究区域提取全局景观格局及其时间变化。通过提出一种基于网格划分的景观格局提取与时空变化检测方法,并运用此方法研究了北京市城市化进程中景观格局的时空变化。结果表明:基于网格划分的景观格局变化检测方法能够检测出城市空间结构变化的数量、位置和模式,为理解城市扩张行为以及城市扩张建模提供了相比较于遥感土地利用变化检测之外的另一种知识。     

ALOS影像数据土地覆盖分类及景观特征研究

通过马氏距离法、最大似然法、支持向量机三种途径对土地覆盖进行分类,以混淆矩阵对分类结果做精度评价,结果显示,最大似然法和支持向量机分类有较好的效果。以最大似然法为例,通过引入归一化植被指数（NDVI）、基于灰度共生矩阵的纹理特征等进行不同特征组合的分类,探讨其对分类的影响。研究表明,NDVI、对比度、均值参与分类后,对分类精度都有不同程度的提高,而三者与原始波段的结合分类精度最高。基于分类结果做景观格局定量分析。结果表明,研究区景观类型较为丰富,以耕地为主导,再加上城镇和农村聚落用地,约占到整个研究区的82%,表明景观所受的人类活动干扰和压力很大、生态风险高。因此,必须强化黑河中游绿洲荒漠区的土地利用规划和管理,适当约束耕地和聚落用地的扩张,提高土地利用效率;要加强生态保护和建设,提高景观的抗干扰能力。     

Characterizing urban sprawl using multi-stage remote sensing images and landscape metrics

This study intends to explore the spatial analytical methods to identify both general trends and more subtle patterns of urban land changes. Landsat imagery of metropolitan Kansas City, USA was used to generate time series of land cover data over the past three decades. Based on remotely sensed land cover data, landscape metrics were calculated. Both the remotely sensed data and landscape metrics were used to characterize long-term trends and patterns of urban sprawl. Land cover change analyses at the metropolitan, county, and city levels reveal that over the past three decades the significant increase of built-up land in the study area was mainly at the expense of non-forest vegetation cover. The spatial and temporal heterogeneity of the land cover changes allowed the identification of fast and slow sprawling areas. The landscape metrics were analyzed across jurisdictional levels to understand the effects of the built-up expansion on the forestland and non-forest vegetation cover. The results of the analysis suggest that at the metropolitan level both the areas of non-forest vegetation and the forestland became more fragmented due to development while large forest patches were less affected. Metrics statistics show that this landscape effect occurred moderately at the county level, while it could be only weakly identified at the city level, suggesting a scale effect that the landscape response of urbanization can be better revealed within larger spatial units (e.g., a metropolitan area or a county as compared to a city). The interpretation of the built-up patch density metrics helped identify different stages of urbanization in two major urban sprawl directions of the metropolitan area. Land consumption indices (LCI) were devised to relate the remotely sensed built-up growth to changes in housing and commercial constructions as major driving factors, providing an effective measure to compare and characterize urban sprawl across jurisdictional boundaries and time periods.     

基于特征统计可分性的遥感数据专题分类尺度效应分析

现有的对地观测遥感卫星能够提供从0.61 m到数十公里空间分辨率的遥感数据。通过遥感数据的专题分类得到的专题图的精度不但受遥感数据光谱特征、遥感数据处理和分类过程的影响, 而且受到所用的遥感数据的空间分辨率的影响。遥感数据空间分辨率的变化对遥感专题分类精度的影响受混合像元数目的变化和类内光谱特征变异程度的变化这两个矛盾的因子影响。空间分辨率对分类精度的最终影响决定于这两个矛盾影响因子的净效应。通过分析遥感专题分类中分类特种的统计可分性随遥感数据空间分辨率的变化来分析空间分辨率变化对分类精度的净效应。采用变换的离散度作为特征的统计可分性度量。以TM数据进行土地利用/土地覆被分类为例,首先将原始分辨率的图像以简单平均方法逐步尺度扩展到不同分辨率,然后在原始空间分辨率的图像上,根据该地区土地利用图进行层次随机采样,并以原始分辨率图像上的随机采样位置为掩模,在尺度扩展后的图像上进行同样位置的随机采样,最后在各空间分辨率上分别计算类对间的变换离散度。对变换的离散度随空间分辨率变化的规律进行了分析和定性解释。研究表明,类对间空间邻接结构对类别间混合像元数目随空间分辨率的变化有决定性影响;不同类对之间的最大统计可分性可能发生在不同的空间分辨率;空间分辨率越高,并不一定分类精度越高;不同类别之间的分类需要不同空间分辨率的数据。