Comparative Study of Random Forest and Support Vector Machine for Land Cover Classification and Post-Wildfire Change Detection
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: The land use land cover (LULC) map is extensively employed for different purposes. The LULC maps provided by the Portuguese National Geographic Information System (SNIG) are not ideal for continuous assessment and regular scrutiny. Machine learning (ML) algorithms applied in remote sensing (RS) data has been proven effective in image classification, object detection, and semantic segmentation. Previous studies have shown that Random Forest (RF) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) consistently achieved high accuracy for land classification. In this study, the application of RF and SVM classifiers, and object-based (OBIA) and pixel-based (PBIA) approaches with Sentinel-2A imagery was evaluated using Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform for land cover classification of a burned area in the Serra da Estrela Natural Park (PNSE), Portugal. This aimed to detect the land cover change and closely observe the burned area and vegetation recovery after the 2022 wildfire. The combination of RF and OBIA achieved the highest accuracy in all evaluation metrics. At the same time, a comparison with the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) map and Conjunctural Land Occupation Map (COSc) of 2023 year indicated that the SVM and PBIA map resembled the maps better.
Source: Land
DOI: 10.3390/land13111878
Authors: Tan Yan Cheng, Lia Duarte, Ana Cláudia Teodoro
Institution: Universidade do Porto
Language: English
Subfield: Media Technology
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,955
OpenAlex ID: W4404244405