Assessing the effectiveness of ground truth data to capture landscape variability from an agricultural region using Gaussian simulation and geostatistical techniques.

Predictive modeling with remotely sensed data requires an accurate representation of spatial variability by ground truth data. In this study, we assessed the reliability of the size and location of ground truth data in capturing the landscape spatial variability embedded in the Airborne Visible Infrared Imaging Spectrometer-Next Generation (AVIRIS-NG) hyperspectral image in an agricultural region in Anand, India. We derived simulated spectral vegetation and soil indices using Gaussian simulation from AVIRIS-NG image for two point-location datasets, (1) ground truth points from adaptive sampling and (2) points from conditional Latin Hypercube Sampling (cLHS). We compared values of the simulated image indices against the actual image indices (measured) through the analysis of mean absolute errors. Modeling the variogram of the measured indices with the hyperspectral image in high spatial resolution (4m), is an effective way to characterize the spatial heterogeneity at the landscape level. We used geostatistical techniques to analyze the shapes of experimental variograms in order to assess whether or not the ground truth points, when compared against the cLHS-derived points, captured the spatial structures and variability of the studied agricultural area using measured indices. In addition, we explored the capability of the variogram by running tests in different point sample sizes. The ground truth and cLHS datasets were able to derive equivalent values for field spatial variability from image indices, according to our findings. Furthermore, this research presents a methodology for selecting spectral indices and determining the best sample size for efficiently replicating spatial patterns in hyperspectral images.

Correction: Modified shape index for object-based random forest image classification of agricultural systems using airborne hyperspectral datasets.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0213356.].

Modified shape index for object-based random forest image classification of agricultural systems using airborne hyperspectral datasets.

This paper highlights the importance of optimized shape index for agricultural management system analysis that utilizes the contiguous bands of hyperspectral data to define the gradient of the spectral curve and improve image classification accuracy. Currently, a number of machine learning methods would resort to using averaged spectral information over wide bandwidths resulting in loss of crucial information available in those contiguous bands. The loss of information could mean a drop in the discriminative power when it comes to land cover classes with comparable spectral responses, as in the case of cultivated fields versus fallow lands. In this study, we proposed and tested three new optimized novel algorithms based on Moment Distance Index (MDI) that characterizes the whole shape of the spectral curve. The image classification tests conducted on two publicly available hyperspectral data sets (AVIRIS 1992 Indian Pine and HYDICE Washington DC Mall images) showed the robustness of the optimized algorithms in terms of classification accuracy. We achieved an overall accuracy of 98% and 99% for AVIRIS and HYDICE, respectively. The optimized indices were also time efficient as it avoided the process of band dimension reduction, such as those implemented by several well-known classifiers. Our results showed the potential of optimized shape indices, specifically the Moment Distance Ratio Right/Left (MDRRL), to discriminate between types of tillage (corn-min and corn-notill) and between grass/pasture and grass/trees, tree and grass under object-based random forest approach.

Habitat assessment of Marco Polo sheep (Ovis ammon polii) in Eastern Tajikistan: Modeling the effects of climate change.

Identifying the factors predicting the high-elevation suitable habitats of Central Asian argali wild sheep and how these suitable habitats are affected by the changing climate regimes could help address conservation and management efforts and identify future critical habitat for the species in eastern Tajikistan. This study used environmental niche models (ENMs) to map and compare potential present and future distributions of suitable environmental conditions for Marco Polo argali. Argali occurrence points were collected during field surveys conducted from 2009 to 2016. Our models showed that terrain ruggedness and annual mean temperature had strong correlations on argali distribution. We then used two greenhouse gas concentration trajectories (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5) for two future time periods (2050 and 2070) to model the impacts of climate change on Marco Polo argali habitat. Results indicated a decline of suitable habitat with majority of losses observed at lower elevations (3,300-4,300 m). Models that considered all variables (climatic and nonclimatic) predicted losses of present suitable areas of 60.6% (6,928 km2) and 63.2% (7,219 km2) by 2050 and 2070, respectively. Results also showed averaged habitat gains of 46.2% (6,106 km2) at much higher elevations (4,500-6,900 m) and that elevational shifts of habitat use could occur in the future. Our results could provide information for conservation planning for this near threatened species in the region.

Summer and winter habitat suitability of Marco Polo argali in southeastern Tajikistan: A modeling approach.

We modeled summer and winter habitat suitability of Marco Polo argali in the Pamir Mountains in southeastern Tajikistan using these statistical algorithms: Generalized Linear Model, Random Forest, Boosted Regression Tree, Maxent, and Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines. Using sheep occurrence data collected from 2009 to 2015 and a set of selected habitat predictors, we produced summer and winter habitat suitability maps and determined the important habitat suitability predictors for both seasons. Our results demonstrated that argali selected proximity to riparian areas and greenness as the two most relevant variables for summer, and the degree of slope (gentler slopes between 0° to 20°) and Landsat temperature band for winter. The terrain roughness was also among the most important variables in summer and winter models. Aspect was only significant for winter habitat, with argali preferring south-facing mountain slopes. We evaluated various measures of model performance such as the Area Under the Curve (AUC) and the True Skill Statistic (TSS). Comparing the five algorithms, the AUC scored highest for Boosted Regression Tree in summer (AUC = 0.94) and winter model runs (AUC = 0.94). In contrast, Random Forest underperformed in both model runs.