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REMAP: An online remote sensing application for land cover classification and monitoring

View ORCID ProfileNicholas J. Murray, David A. Keith, Daniel Simpson, John H. Wilshire, Richard M. Lucas
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/212464
Nicholas J. Murray
1Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia , , ,
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  • For correspondence: david.keith@unsw.edu.au danielksimpson@gmail.com j.wilshire@unsw.edu.au richard.lucas@unsw.edu.au
David A. Keith
1Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia , , ,
2New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage, Hurstville, New South Wales, Australia
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  • For correspondence: david.keith@unsw.edu.au danielksimpson@gmail.com j.wilshire@unsw.edu.au richard.lucas@unsw.edu.au
Daniel Simpson
1Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia , , ,
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  • For correspondence: david.keith@unsw.edu.au danielksimpson@gmail.com j.wilshire@unsw.edu.au richard.lucas@unsw.edu.au
John H. Wilshire
1Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia , , ,
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  • For correspondence: david.keith@unsw.edu.au danielksimpson@gmail.com j.wilshire@unsw.edu.au richard.lucas@unsw.edu.au
Richard M. Lucas
1Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia , , ,
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  • For correspondence: david.keith@unsw.edu.au danielksimpson@gmail.com j.wilshire@unsw.edu.au richard.lucas@unsw.edu.au
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ABSTRACT

  1. Recent assessments of progress towards global conservation targets have revealed a paucity of indicators suitable for assessing the changing state of ecosystems. Moreover, land managers and planners are often unable to gain timely access to maps they need to support their routine decision-making. This deficiency is partly due to a lack of suitable data on ecosystem change, driven mostly by the considerable technical expertise needed to make ecosystem maps from remote sensing data.

  2. We have developed a free and open-access online remote sensing and environmental modelling application, REMAP (the remote ecosystem monitoring and assessment pipeline; https://remap-app.org) that enables volunteers, managers, and scientists with little or no experience in remote sensing to develop high-resolution classified maps of land cover and land use change over time.

  3. REMAP utilizes the geospatial data storage and analysis capacity of the Google Earth Engine, and requires only spatially resolved training data that define map classes of interest (e.g., ecosystem types). The training data, which can be uploaded or annotated interactively within REMAP, are used in a random forest classification of up to 13 publicly available predictor datasets to assign all pixels in a focal region to map classes. Predictor datasets available in REMAP represent topographic (e.g. slope, elevation), spectral (Landsat Archive image composites) and climatic variables (precipitation, temperature) that can inform on the distribution of ecosystems and land cover classes.

  4. The ability of REMAP to develop and export high-quality classified maps in a very short (<10 minute) time frame represents a considerable advance towards globally accessible and free application of remote sensing technology. By enabling access to data and simplifying remote sensing classifications, REMAP can catalyse the monitoring of land use and change to support environmental conservation, including developing inventories of biodiversity, identifying hotspots of ecosystem diversity, ecosystem-based spatial conservation planning, mapping ecosystem loss at local scales, and supporting environmental education initiatives.

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The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted April 20, 2018.
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REMAP: An online remote sensing application for land cover classification and monitoring
Nicholas J. Murray, David A. Keith, Daniel Simpson, John H. Wilshire, Richard M. Lucas
bioRxiv 212464; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/212464
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REMAP: An online remote sensing application for land cover classification and monitoring
Nicholas J. Murray, David A. Keith, Daniel Simpson, John H. Wilshire, Richard M. Lucas
bioRxiv 212464; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/212464

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