Combining Multi-Source Data and Feature Optimization for Plastic-Covered Greenhouse Extraction and Mapping Using the Google Earth Engine: A Case in Central Yunnan Province, China

Abstract

Rapidly increasing numbers of the plastic-covered greenhouse (PCG) worldwide ensure food security but threaten environmental security; thus, accurate monitoring of the spatiotemporal pattern in plastic-covered greenhouses (PCGs) is necessary for modern agricultural management and environmental protection. However, many urgent issues still exist in PCG mapping, such as multi-source data combination, classification accuracy improvement, spatiotemporal scale expansion, and dynamic trend quantification. To address these problems, this study proposed a new framework that progressed layer by layer from multi-feature scenario construction, classifier and feature scenario preliminary screening, feature optimization, and spatiotemporal mapping, to rapidly identify large-scale PCGs by integrating multi-source data using Google Earth Engine (GEE), and the framework was first applied to Central Yunnan Province (CYP), where PCGs are concentrated but no relevant research exists. The results suggested that: (1) combining the random forest (RF) classifier and spectrum (S) + backscatter (B) + index (I) + texture (T) + terrain (Tr) feature scenario produced the highest F-score (95.60%) and overall accuracy (88.04%). (2) The feature optimization for the S + I + T + B + Tr scenario positively impacted PCG recognition, increasing the average F-score by 1.03% (96.63% vs. 95.60%). (3) The 6-year average F-score of the PCGs extracted by the combined RF algorithm and the optimal feature subset exceeded 95.00%, and its spatiotemporal mapping results indicated that PCGs were prominently agglomerated in the central CYP and continuously expanded by an average of 65.45 km2/yr from 2016 to 2021. The research reveals that based on the GEE platform, multi-source data can be integrated through a feature optimization algorithm to more efficiently map PCG spatiotemporal information in complex regions.