Global discrimination of land cover types from metrics derived from AVHRR pathfinder data

Journal Article · Fri Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1995 · Remote Sensing of Environment

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/0034-4257(95)00142-5· OSTI ID:201142

DeFries, R; Hansen, M; Townshend, J ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States)

Global data sets of land cover are a significant requirement for global biogeochemical and climate models. Remotely sensed satellite data is an increasingly attractive source for deriving these data sets due to the resulting internal consistency, reproducibility, and coverage in locations where ground knowledge is sparse. Seasonal changes in the greenness of vegetation, described in remotely sensed data as changes in the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) throughout the year, have been the basis for discriminating between cover types in previous attempts to derive land cover from AVHRR data at global and continental scales. This study examines the use of metrics derived from the NDVI temporal profile, as well as metrics derived from observations in red, infrared, and thermal bands, to improve discrimination between 12 cover types on a global scale. According to separability measures calculated from Bhattacharya distances, average separabilities improved by using 12 of the 16 metrics tested (1.97) compared to separabilities using 12 monthly NDVI values alone (1.88). Overall, the most robust metrics for discriminating between cover types were: mean NDVI, maximum NDVI, NDVI amplitude, AVHRR Band 2 (near-infrared reflectance) and Band 1 (red reflectance) corresponding to the time of maximum NDVI, and maximum land surface temperature. Deciduous and evergreen vegetation can be distinguished by mean NDVI, maximum NDVI, NDVI amplitude, and maximum land surface temperature. Needleleaf and broadleaf vegetation can be distinguished by either mean NDVI and NDVI amplitude or maximum NDVI and NDVI amplitude.

• OSTI ID: 201142
• Journal Information: Remote Sensing of Environment, Journal Name: Remote Sensing of Environment Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 54; ISSN RSEEA7; ISSN 0034-4257
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
BIOGEOCHEMISTRY
CLIMATE MODELS
GLOBAL ASPECTS
GROUND COVER
PLANT GROWTH
RADIOMETERS
REMOTE SENSING
SATELLITES
SEASONAL VARIATIONS