Land-cover change monitoring with classification trees using Landsat TM and ancillary data

Authors

John Rogan, San Diego State UniversityFollow
Jennifer Miller, San Diego State University
Doug Stow, San Diego State University
Janet Franklin, San Diego State University
Lisa Levien, USDA Forest Service
Chris Fischer, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

Document Type

Article

Abstract

We monitored land-cover change in San Diego County (1990-1996) using multitemporal Landsat TM data. Change vectors of Kauth Thomas features were combined with stable multitemporal Kauth Thomas features and a suite of ancillary variables within a classification tree classifier. A combination of aerial photointerpretation and field measurements yielded training and validation data. Maps of land-cover change were generated for three hierarchical levels of change classification of increasing detail: change vs. no-change; four classes representing broad increase and decrease classes; and nine classes distinguishing increases or decreases in tree canopy cover, shrub cover, and urban change. The multitemporal Kauth Thomas (both stable and change features representing brightness, greenness, and wetness) provided information for magnitude and direction of land-cover change. Overall accuracies of the land-cover change maps were high (72 to 92 percent). Anciliary variables representing elevation, fire history, and slope were most significant in mapping the most complicated level of land-cover change, contributing 15 percent to overall accuracy. Classification trees have not previously been used operationally with remotely sensed and ancillary data to map land-cover change at this level of thematic detail.

Publication Title

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing

Publication Date

2003

Volume

69

Issue

7

First Page

793

Last Page

804

ISSN

0099-1112

DOI

10.14358/PERS.69.7.793

Keywords

environmental monitoring, land cover, Landsat thematic mapper, mapping, remote sensing, vegetation cover

Repository Citation

Rogan, John; Miller, Jennifer; Stow, Doug; Franklin, Janet; Levien, Lisa; and Fischer, Chris, "Land-cover change monitoring with classification trees using Landsat TM and ancillary data" (2003). Geography. 687.
https://commons.clarku.edu/faculty_geography/687

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.