Forest mapping in Peninsular Malaysia using Random Forest and Support Vector Machine Classifiers on Google Earth Engine

Forests play a crucial role in maintaining the balance of the global ecosystem by sustaining the interactions between living and non-living entities. Changes in forest areas encompass both growth and loss, often driven by development activities. Assessing forest cover and its changes is also a pivot...

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Main Authors: Farah Nuralissa Muhammad, Lam, Kuok Choy
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2023
Online Access:http://journalarticle.ukm.my/22708/1/648502198981PB.pdf
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author Farah Nuralissa Muhammad,
Lam, Kuok Choy
author_facet Farah Nuralissa Muhammad,
Lam, Kuok Choy
author_sort Farah Nuralissa Muhammad,
collection UKM
description Forests play a crucial role in maintaining the balance of the global ecosystem by sustaining the interactions between living and non-living entities. Changes in forest areas encompass both growth and loss, often driven by development activities. Assessing forest cover and its changes is also a pivotal issue in forest management. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the performance of machine learning algorithms, namely Random Forest (RF) and Support Vector Machine (SVM), in mapping forest cover in Peninsular Malaysia. Landsat 5 TM and Landsat 8 OLI images were utilized to derive forest cover information. The classification process was automated using the remote sensing data management platform, Google Earth Engine (GEE). The accuracy assessment test using the Kappa coefficient resulted in a value of 0.7893 for the RF algorithm and 0.6328 for the SVM algorithm for the year 2010. Whereas, for the year 2020 the Kappa coefficient yielded 0.7475 for RF and 0.5893 for SVM. However, forest cover returned highest RF Kappa coefficient values of 0.875 (2010) and 0.8793 (2020), and SVM Kappa coefficient values of 0.8116 (2010) and 0.7313 (2020). The results implied that RF performed better in the land use classification compared to SVM. It is evident that this study can aid various stakeholders in assessing future plans and developments without compromising the environment.
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spelling ukm.eprints-227082023-12-16T07:50:47Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/22708/ Forest mapping in Peninsular Malaysia using Random Forest and Support Vector Machine Classifiers on Google Earth Engine Farah Nuralissa Muhammad, Lam, Kuok Choy Forests play a crucial role in maintaining the balance of the global ecosystem by sustaining the interactions between living and non-living entities. Changes in forest areas encompass both growth and loss, often driven by development activities. Assessing forest cover and its changes is also a pivotal issue in forest management. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the performance of machine learning algorithms, namely Random Forest (RF) and Support Vector Machine (SVM), in mapping forest cover in Peninsular Malaysia. Landsat 5 TM and Landsat 8 OLI images were utilized to derive forest cover information. The classification process was automated using the remote sensing data management platform, Google Earth Engine (GEE). The accuracy assessment test using the Kappa coefficient resulted in a value of 0.7893 for the RF algorithm and 0.6328 for the SVM algorithm for the year 2010. Whereas, for the year 2020 the Kappa coefficient yielded 0.7475 for RF and 0.5893 for SVM. However, forest cover returned highest RF Kappa coefficient values of 0.875 (2010) and 0.8793 (2020), and SVM Kappa coefficient values of 0.8116 (2010) and 0.7313 (2020). The results implied that RF performed better in the land use classification compared to SVM. It is evident that this study can aid various stakeholders in assessing future plans and developments without compromising the environment. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2023-08 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/22708/1/648502198981PB.pdf Farah Nuralissa Muhammad, and Lam, Kuok Choy (2023) Forest mapping in Peninsular Malaysia using Random Forest and Support Vector Machine Classifiers on Google Earth Engine. Geografia : Malaysian Journal of Society and Space, 19 (3). pp. 1-16. ISSN 2180-2491 https://ejournal.ukm.my/gmjss/index
spellingShingle Farah Nuralissa Muhammad,
Lam, Kuok Choy
Forest mapping in Peninsular Malaysia using Random Forest and Support Vector Machine Classifiers on Google Earth Engine
title Forest mapping in Peninsular Malaysia using Random Forest and Support Vector Machine Classifiers on Google Earth Engine
title_full Forest mapping in Peninsular Malaysia using Random Forest and Support Vector Machine Classifiers on Google Earth Engine
title_fullStr Forest mapping in Peninsular Malaysia using Random Forest and Support Vector Machine Classifiers on Google Earth Engine
title_full_unstemmed Forest mapping in Peninsular Malaysia using Random Forest and Support Vector Machine Classifiers on Google Earth Engine
title_short Forest mapping in Peninsular Malaysia using Random Forest and Support Vector Machine Classifiers on Google Earth Engine
title_sort forest mapping in peninsular malaysia using random forest and support vector machine classifiers on google earth engine
url http://journalarticle.ukm.my/22708/1/648502198981PB.pdf
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AT lamkuokchoy forestmappinginpeninsularmalaysiausingrandomforestandsupportvectormachineclassifiersongoogleearthengine