Research on the identification of land types and tree species in the Engebei ecological demonstration area based on GF-1 remote sensing

Abstract

Identifying forest types is crucial in satellite remote sensing monitoring. Research focusing on the identification of forest tree species using high-resolution remote sensing images is on the rise. Traditional pixel-based classification methods have not been successful in fully utilizing the rich spatial and texture feature information present in the image. Further, these methods are plagued by “classification noise”, which impedes the precise extraction of information regarding forest tree species. The object-oriented classification method, on the other hand, offers an extraction methodology rooted in image segmentation object features. It efficiently leverages the spectral, texture, and spatial geometry information of high-resolution remote sensing images. In this study, an initial application of the object-oriented, multi-level information extraction was conducted on ground objects within the Engebei ecological demonstration area. This was performed utilizing Gaofen (GF)-1 remote sensing images. Following this, a multi-scale segmentation algorithm was utilized to establish different segmentation scales relative to the features of the different objects. The optimal segmentation scale, shape factor, and compactness factor were determined to be 222/0.5/0.5, 167/0.5/0.6, and 81/0.4/0.6, respectively, for the three levels. Subsequently, training samples were used to select optimal features during the classification process. The nearest neighbor classification and random forest classification were performed respectively. The results indicate an overall classification accuracy of 88.58% and 87.26% for the nearest neighbor classification of remote sensing images in 2020 and 2021 respectively. Meanwhile, the overall classification accuracy for the random forest classification was 92.95% and 92.02% respectively. The Kappa coefficients for the nearest neighbor classification were 0.86 and 0.85, whereas those for the random forest classification were 0.92 and 0.90. These outcomes underscore the utility of the object-oriented classification method in enhancing the accuracy of forest type identification.