Forest Classification Using Simulated Landsat-D Thematic Mapper Data

Abstract

The expected performance of the LANDSAT-D Thematic Mapper (TM) in the forestry context has been evaluated from airborne Multi-Spectral Scanner (MSS) data and compared with the performance of simulated and actual data of the LANDSAT MSS. Specific comparisons are also made to examine the separate effects of the differences in spectral bands, radiometric resolution, and spatial resolution. We find that simulated TM data are significantly better than LANDSAT MSS data for the spectral classification of forest types. If TM imagery is used, the average misclassification error is reduced from 33% to 17%. Most of the improvement is attributable to the number and better wavelength characteristics of the TM spectral bands and, to a lesser extent, the improved TM radiometric resolution. No significant improvement in spectral classification was found as a result of the increased spatial resolution.