Assessment of Segmentation Parameters for Object-Based Land Cover Classification Using Color-Infrared Imagery

Abstract

Using object-based image analysis (OBIA) techniques for land use-land cover classification (LULC) has become an area of interest due to the availability of high-resolution data and segmentation methods. Multi-resolution segmentation in particular, statistically seen as the most used algorithm, is able to produce non-identical segmentations depending on the required parameters. The total effect of segmentation parameters on the classification accuracy of high-resolution imagery is still an open question, though some studies were implemented to define the optimum segmentation parameters. However, recent studies have not properly considered the parameters and their consequences on LULC accuracy. The main objective of this study is to assess OBIA segmentation and classification accuracy according to the segmentation parameters using different overlap ratios during image object sampling for a predetermined scale. With this aim, we analyzed and compared (a) high-resolution color-infrared aerial images of a newly-developed urban area including different land use types; (b) combinations of multi-resolution segmentation with different shape, color, compactness, bands, and band-weights; and (c) accuracies of classifications based on varied segmentations. The results of various parameters in the study showed an explicit correlation between segmentation accuracies and classification accuracies. The effect of changes in segmentation parameters using different sample selection methods for five main LULC types was studied. Specifically, moderate shape and compactness values provided more consistency than lower and higher values; also, band weighting demonstrated substantial results due to the chosen bands. Differences in the variable importance of the classifications and changes in LULC maps were also explained.