DEVISE
Dune Vegetation Identification from Satellite high-resolution images
Recent improvements in spectral and spatial resolution of satellite imagery open new and exciting prospects for large-scale environmental monitoring. Still this potential is largely unused in dune ecogeomorphology, due to the challenges related with the small size and density of dune plants and the complexity and heterogeneity of the existing species. Machine learning techniques and subpixel classification methodologies, like the Random Forest Soft Classification (RFSC), have shown promising results in similarly challenging environments in terms of plant size and heterogeneity, with high accuracies in subpixel fractional abundance of marsh-vegetation species. Even though subpixel classification could improve monitoring biodiversity from satellite imagery, similar approaches have never been tested for dune environments.
Test initial scientific hypothesis that RFSC methods can be successfully used to identify dune plant species from high-resolution satellite imagery.
Optimise the subpixel classification methodology, assess its predictive capacity and identify potential limitations.
Improve current capacity in monitoring coastal dune vegetation through satellite data.
