Improved forest cover mapping based on MODIS time series and landscape stratification

Detailed forest-cover mapping at a regional scale by supervised classification is technically limited by various factors. This study evaluates the ability of a landscape stratification method to improve classification accuracy. An object-based segmentation technique (OBIA) was performed to delineate radiometrically homogeneous regions into the study area, used as strata for the classification of a time series of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data. As a reduction of the spatial variability of the signatures of the vegetation classes is expected, Maximum Likelihood Classifier (MLC) was used to analyse potential effects on classification accuracy. Accuracy assessment was based on the calculation of kappa coefficient (κ) and reject fraction (RF). The values obtained with and without stratification were compared, to assess their global and per-stratum influence on the quality of a detailed forest-cover map (20 different classes). To study the influence of topographical and landscape stratum characteristics on classification accuracy, eight indicators were calculated. Their correlation with κ and RF differences due to stratification was analysed. Our study showed that stratification improved global and per-stratum classification accuracy and in parallel caused an RFincrease. Both these evolutions are not conditioned by the stratum topographical and landscape characteristics but strongly influenced by stratum and classified vegetation area