Vegetation Subtype Classification of Evergreen Broad-Leaved Forests in Mountainous Areas Using a Hierarchy-Based Classifier

Abstract

Evergreen broad-leaved forests with rich biodiversity play a key role in stabilizing global vegetation productivity and maintaining land carbon sinks. However, quantitative and accurate classification results for humid, evergreen, broad-leaved forests (HEBF) and semi-humid evergreen broad-leaved forests (SEBF) with different vegetation productivity and significant differences in species composition are lacking. Remote sensing technology brings the possibility of vegetation subtype classification. Taking the mountainous evergreen broad-leaved forests distributed in Sichuan Province as an example, this study proposed a hierarchy-based classifier combined with environmental variables to quantitatively classify the two vegetation subtypes with different ecological characteristics but similar image features. Additionally, we applied Sun–Canopy–Sensor and C parameter(SCS + C) topographic correction to preprocess the images, effectively correcting the radiometric distortion and enhancing the accuracy of vegetation classification. Finally, achieving an overall accuracy (OA) of 87.91% and a Kappa coefficient of 0.76, which is higher than that of directly using the classifier to classify the two vegetation subtypes. The study revealed the widespread distribution of evergreen broad-leaved forests in Sichuan, with a clear boundary between the distribution areas of HEBF and SEBF. The HEBF in the east is located in the basin and the low marginal mountains; the SEBF is located in the southwest dry valley. The methods employed in this study offer an effective approach to vegetation classification in mountainous areas. The findings can provide guidance for ecological engineering construction, ecological protection, and agricultural and livestock development.