A Versatile, Production-Oriented Approach to High-Resolution Tree-Canopy Mapping in Urban and Suburban Landscapes Using GEOBIA and Data Fusion

O'Neil-Dunne, Jarlath; MacFaden, Sean; Royar, Anna

doi:10.3390/rs61212837

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A Versatile, Production-Oriented Approach to High-Resolution Tree-Canopy Mapping in Urban and Suburban Landscapes Using GEOBIA and Data Fusion

Jarlath O'Neil-Dunne

^*,†,

Sean MacFaden

^† and

Anna Royar

Spatial Analysis Laboratory, University of Vermont, Aiken Center, 81 Carrigan Dr., Burlington, VT 05405, USA

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Remote Sens. 2014, 6(12), 12837-12865; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs61212837

Received: 15 July 2014 / Revised: 8 December 2014 / Accepted: 16 December 2014 / Published: 22 December 2014

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Geographic Object-Based Image Analysis (GEOBIA))

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Abstract

The benefits of tree canopy in urban and suburban landscapes are increasingly well known: stormwater runoff control, air-pollution mitigation, temperature regulation, carbon storage, wildlife habitat, neighborhood cohesion, and other social indicators of quality of life. However, many urban areas lack high-resolution tree canopy maps that document baseline conditions or inform tree-planting programs, limiting effective study and management. This paper describes a GEOBIA approach to tree-canopy mapping that relies on existing public investments in LiDAR, multispectral imagery, and thematic GIS layers, thus eliminating or reducing data acquisition costs. This versatile approach accommodates datasets of varying content and quality, first using LiDAR derivatives to identify aboveground features and then a combination of LiDAR and imagery to differentiate trees from buildings and other anthropogenic structures. Initial tree canopy objects are then refined through contextual analysis, morphological smoothing, and small-gap filling. Case studies from locations in the United States and Canada show how a GEOBIA approach incorporating data fusion and enterprise processing can be used for producing high-accuracy, high-resolution maps for large geographic extents. These maps are designed specifically for practical application by planning and regulatory end users who expect not only high accuracy but also high realism and visual coherence. View Full-Text

Keywords: tree canopy; urban; urban tree canopy (UTC) assessment; UTC assessment; geographic object-based image analysis; change detection; eCognition; LiDAR; multispectral imagery

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

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MDPI and ACS Style

O'Neil-Dunne, J.; MacFaden, S.; Royar, A. A Versatile, Production-Oriented Approach to High-Resolution Tree-Canopy Mapping in Urban and Suburban Landscapes Using GEOBIA and Data Fusion. Remote Sens. 2014, 6, 12837-12865. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs61212837

AMA Style

O'Neil-Dunne J, MacFaden S, Royar A. A Versatile, Production-Oriented Approach to High-Resolution Tree-Canopy Mapping in Urban and Suburban Landscapes Using GEOBIA and Data Fusion. Remote Sensing. 2014; 6(12):12837-12865. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs61212837

Chicago/Turabian Style

O'Neil-Dunne, Jarlath, Sean MacFaden, and Anna Royar. 2014. "A Versatile, Production-Oriented Approach to High-Resolution Tree-Canopy Mapping in Urban and Suburban Landscapes Using GEOBIA and Data Fusion" Remote Sensing 6, no. 12: 12837-12865. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs61212837

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A Versatile, Production-Oriented Approach to High-Resolution Tree-Canopy Mapping in Urban and Suburban Landscapes Using GEOBIA and Data Fusion

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