A patch filling method for thematic map refinement: a case study on forest cover mapping in the Greater Mekong Subregion and Malaysia

Accurate forest cover mapping is essential for monitoring the status of forest extent in Southeast Asia. However, tropical areas frequently experience cloud cover, resulting in invalid or missing data in thematic maps. The initial 2005 and 2010 forest cover maps produced by the collaboration of the...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Shili Meng, Yong Pang, Kebiao Huang, Zengyuan Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2023-12-01
Series:GIScience & Remote Sensing
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15481603.2023.2252225
_version_ 1827811623246495744
author Shili Meng
Yong Pang
Kebiao Huang
Zengyuan Li
author_facet Shili Meng
Yong Pang
Kebiao Huang
Zengyuan Li
author_sort Shili Meng
collection DOAJ
description Accurate forest cover mapping is essential for monitoring the status of forest extent in Southeast Asia. However, tropical areas frequently experience cloud cover, resulting in invalid or missing data in thematic maps. The initial 2005 and 2010 forest cover maps produced by the collaboration of the Greater Mekong Subregion and Malaysia (GMS+) economies contain unclassified pixels in the areas affected by cloud or cloud shadow. To enhance the usability and effectiveness of the 2005 and 2010 GMS+ forest cover maps for further analysis and applications, we present a novel method for accurately mapping forest cover in the presence of cloud cover. We employed a pixel-based algorithm to create clear view composites and automatically generated land cover training labels from the existing forest cover maps. We then reclassified the invalid areas and produced updated maps. The land cover types for all previously missing pixels have been successfully reclassified. The accuracy of this method was assessed at both the pixel and region level, with an overall accuracy of 94.2% at the forest/non-forest level and 86.6% at the finer classification level by pixel level assessment across all reclassified patches, and 93.2% at the forest/non-forest level and 89.9% at the finer level by region level for the selected site. There are 2.6% of forest and 0.7% of non-forest areas in the 2005 map, as well as 2.7% of forest and 0.6% of non-forest in the 2010 map have been reclassified from invalid pixels. This approach provides a framework for filling invalid areas in the existing thematic map toward improving its spatial continuity. The updated outputs provide more accurate and reliable information than the initial maps on the status of forest extent in the GMS+, which is critical for effective forest management and sustainable use in the region.
first_indexed 2024-03-11T23:08:15Z
format Article
id doaj.art-3d49703b593c43ac955bf440a77bf349
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1548-1603
1943-7226
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-11T23:08:15Z
publishDate 2023-12-01
publisher Taylor & Francis Group
record_format Article
series GIScience & Remote Sensing
spelling doaj.art-3d49703b593c43ac955bf440a77bf3492023-09-21T12:43:10ZengTaylor & Francis GroupGIScience & Remote Sensing1548-16031943-72262023-12-0160110.1080/15481603.2023.22522252252225A patch filling method for thematic map refinement: a case study on forest cover mapping in the Greater Mekong Subregion and MalaysiaShili Meng0Yong Pang1Kebiao Huang2Zengyuan Li3Chinese Academy of ForestryChinese Academy of ForestryChinese Academy of ForestryChinese Academy of ForestryAccurate forest cover mapping is essential for monitoring the status of forest extent in Southeast Asia. However, tropical areas frequently experience cloud cover, resulting in invalid or missing data in thematic maps. The initial 2005 and 2010 forest cover maps produced by the collaboration of the Greater Mekong Subregion and Malaysia (GMS+) economies contain unclassified pixels in the areas affected by cloud or cloud shadow. To enhance the usability and effectiveness of the 2005 and 2010 GMS+ forest cover maps for further analysis and applications, we present a novel method for accurately mapping forest cover in the presence of cloud cover. We employed a pixel-based algorithm to create clear view composites and automatically generated land cover training labels from the existing forest cover maps. We then reclassified the invalid areas and produced updated maps. The land cover types for all previously missing pixels have been successfully reclassified. The accuracy of this method was assessed at both the pixel and region level, with an overall accuracy of 94.2% at the forest/non-forest level and 86.6% at the finer classification level by pixel level assessment across all reclassified patches, and 93.2% at the forest/non-forest level and 89.9% at the finer level by region level for the selected site. There are 2.6% of forest and 0.7% of non-forest areas in the 2005 map, as well as 2.7% of forest and 0.6% of non-forest in the 2010 map have been reclassified from invalid pixels. This approach provides a framework for filling invalid areas in the existing thematic map toward improving its spatial continuity. The updated outputs provide more accurate and reliable information than the initial maps on the status of forest extent in the GMS+, which is critical for effective forest management and sustainable use in the region.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15481603.2023.2252225forest cover mapgms+clear view compositesinvalid areasrandom forest
spellingShingle Shili Meng
Yong Pang
Kebiao Huang
Zengyuan Li
A patch filling method for thematic map refinement: a case study on forest cover mapping in the Greater Mekong Subregion and Malaysia
GIScience & Remote Sensing
forest cover map
gms+
clear view composites
invalid areas
random forest
title A patch filling method for thematic map refinement: a case study on forest cover mapping in the Greater Mekong Subregion and Malaysia
title_full A patch filling method for thematic map refinement: a case study on forest cover mapping in the Greater Mekong Subregion and Malaysia
title_fullStr A patch filling method for thematic map refinement: a case study on forest cover mapping in the Greater Mekong Subregion and Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed A patch filling method for thematic map refinement: a case study on forest cover mapping in the Greater Mekong Subregion and Malaysia
title_short A patch filling method for thematic map refinement: a case study on forest cover mapping in the Greater Mekong Subregion and Malaysia
title_sort patch filling method for thematic map refinement a case study on forest cover mapping in the greater mekong subregion and malaysia
topic forest cover map
gms+
clear view composites
invalid areas
random forest
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15481603.2023.2252225
work_keys_str_mv AT shilimeng apatchfillingmethodforthematicmaprefinementacasestudyonforestcovermappinginthegreatermekongsubregionandmalaysia
AT yongpang apatchfillingmethodforthematicmaprefinementacasestudyonforestcovermappinginthegreatermekongsubregionandmalaysia
AT kebiaohuang apatchfillingmethodforthematicmaprefinementacasestudyonforestcovermappinginthegreatermekongsubregionandmalaysia
AT zengyuanli apatchfillingmethodforthematicmaprefinementacasestudyonforestcovermappinginthegreatermekongsubregionandmalaysia
AT shilimeng patchfillingmethodforthematicmaprefinementacasestudyonforestcovermappinginthegreatermekongsubregionandmalaysia
AT yongpang patchfillingmethodforthematicmaprefinementacasestudyonforestcovermappinginthegreatermekongsubregionandmalaysia
AT kebiaohuang patchfillingmethodforthematicmaprefinementacasestudyonforestcovermappinginthegreatermekongsubregionandmalaysia
AT zengyuanli patchfillingmethodforthematicmaprefinementacasestudyonforestcovermappinginthegreatermekongsubregionandmalaysia