Mapping Plantation Type

Using Landsat MSS Imagery

Tony Traylen
Mathematical & Information Sciences
30 September, 2008
Carbon emissions and land use

Almost 30% of Australia’s

man-made greenhouse gas emissions
originate from changes in land use.

CSIRO. Mapping Plantation Type Using Landsat MSS Imagery

National Carbon Accounting System (DCC)
NCAS – system for modelling and predicting continental-
scale land-based carbon emissions and absorptions

Climate &
Productivity
Net land-
National
based
Forest extent carbon
carbon
model
emissions

Forest type label

Softwood / Native

CSIRO. Mapping Plantation Type Using Landsat MSS Imagery

Plantation (forest) type mapping

Produce a time series of forest type maps covering the continent.

Existing NCAS archive of national Landsat coverages:

2006, 2005, …, 1991, 1989 1988, 1985, 1980, 1977, 1972

Landsat TM Landsat MSS

25m pixel, 50m pixel,
6 band multispectral, 4 band multispectral,
lower SNR

single classifier for limited spectral

hardwood / softwood / discrimination
native of forest types

1990 baseline for Kyoto reporting

CSIRO. Mapping Plantation Type Using Landsat MSS Imagery
Single-date classifications (MLC)
Softwood Native Mixed Bare Masked (Non-forest / Missing)

1972 - MSS 1977 - MSS 1980 - MSS

1985 - MSS 1988 - MSS 1991 - TM

CSIRO. Mapping Plantation Type Using Landsat MSS Imagery
Multi-temporal considerations

Incorporate temporal understanding to improve classifications:

1972 1977 1980 1985 1988 TM

Temporally N S S
consistent
N B S

Temporally
inconsistent S N S N N N

Poor /
Missing / N − N S M S
Ambiguous

CSIRO. Mapping Plantation Type Using Landsat MSS Imagery

 Multi-temporal classification (Bayesian network)

1972 1977 1980 1985 1988 TM

Estimated
4-Class C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6
Prob. Maps
Classification
Error Rates

Unknown Temporal
True 2-Class T1 Rules
T2 T3 T4 T5 T6
Prob. Maps
1972 1977 1980 1985 1988 TM

CSIRO. Mapping Plantation Type Using Landsat MSS Imagery

Plantation type mapping using MSS data

Methodology:

0. Pre-process imagery
1. Stratify into zones
2. Select training sites
3. Single-date classification (MLC)
4. Multi-temporal classification (Bayesian Network)

CSIRO. Mapping Plantation Type Using Landsat MSS Imagery

1. Stratification zones

Stratification zones.

Zone 4

Zone 3

Zone 1 - NOTE:
Ottways
Image date
boundaries
Zone2 -
Gippsland

1991 Landsat TM. Map sheet SJ55. Bands 4,5,3 (R,G,B).

CSIRO. Mapping Plantation Type Using Landsat MSS Imagery

2. Training site selection

Training sites - white boxes.

Subzone of Zone 2, SJ55.

CSIRO. Mapping Plantation Type Using Landsat MSS Imagery

3. Single-date classification

Canonical variate means plot.

1988 Landsat MSS. Zone 2, SJ55.

CSIRO. Mapping Plantation Type Using Landsat MSS Imagery

3. Single-date classification

Canonical variate means plot.

A possible separable spectral grouping - hand drawn by user.

CSIRO. Mapping Plantation Type Using Landsat MSS Imagery

3. Single-date classifications (MLC)
Softwood Native Mixed Bare Masked (Non-forest / Missing)

1972 - MSS 1977 - MSS 1980 - MSS

1985 - MSS 1988 - MSS 1991 - TM

CSIRO. Mapping Plantation Type Using Landsat MSS Imagery
4. Multi-temporal classifications (Bayesian network)
Softwood Native Stratification zone boundary Non-forest

1972 - MSS 1977 - MSS 1980 - MSS

1985 - MSS 1988 - MSS 1991 - TM

CSIRO. Mapping Plantation Type Using Landsat MSS Imagery
Forest type mapping

Method successfully rolled out over the entire Australian continent.

CSIRO. Mapping Plantation Type Using Landsat MSS Imagery

CSIRO Mathematical & Information Sciences

Tony Traylen Tel: +61 8 9333 6152 Email: Tony.Traylen@csiro.au

and Suzanne Furby

Drew Devereux
Simon Collings
Jeremy Wallace

Thank you
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