23
Transfer Test Case 2: To a Different Site – From Atlantic
to Continental Heathland
Study Site
The Wahner Heide is a heathland in between the cities of Cologne and Bonn in
Germany, in the Continental Biogeographical Region of Europe. In terms of vegetation (and Natura 2000 habitats), the area is similar to the Kalmthoutse Heide: a
complex mixture of dry and wet heathlands, inland dunes, open grasslands and forested areas. Its history, however, is different. Whereas Kalmthoutse Heide has been
a nature reserve attracting visitors for almost a century, Wahner Heide was used as
military training grounds up until the 1990s. During that time, exercises with heavy
military tanks kept the area open, while at the same time inaccessible to the public.
Once the military use was discontinued, the area underwent a transition into successional forests and the use as a local recreation area increased. A management plan
is currently in place to preserve the open habitats.
Table 2 Overview of obtained accuracies of method transfer to later dates, for the Grenspark De
Zoom-Kalmthoutse Heide
Image date
Image
type
Training
sample size Level
OA
(%)
Avg. PA
(%)
Avg. UA
(%)
Kappa
2007–June–02 AHS
938
1
93.82
93.19
94.00
0.93
2
90.19
89.63
90.09
0.89
3
87.10
79.83
84.85
0.86
4
81.24
69.87
73.64
0.80
2010–June–28 APEX
1375
1
89.09
86.40
88.03
0.86
2
83.93
83.76
84.52
0.82
3
81.16
74.96
78.57
0.79
4
70.84
63.65
66.43
0.69
2011–June–27 APEX
687
1
87.48
87.59
87.86
0.85
2
83.99
83.10
84.38
0.82
3
77.87
71.32
74.49
0.76
4
69.87
62.67
64.45
0.68
2011–Sept–24 APEX
687
1
85.15
85.34
85.09
0.82
2
80.49
77.77
80.31
0.78
3
75.84
66.22
72.85
0.74
4
68.70
59.62
63.53
0.67
2012–July–02
APEX
686
1
87.32
87.70
87.71
0.85
2
81.49
78.91
79.16
0.79
3
74.20
66.13
68.97
0.72
4
67.64
58.55
59.59
0.65
AHS Airborne Hyperspectral Scanner, APEX Airborne Prism Experiment. Level: see Table 1, OA
overall accuracy, Avg. PA average producer’s accuracy, Avg. UA average user’s accuracy
Towards a Mature Age of Remote Sensing for Natura 2000 Habitat Conservation: Poor…
Transfer Test Case 2: To a Different Site – From Atlantic
to Continental Heathland
Study Site
The Wahner Heide is a heathland in between the cities of Cologne and Bonn in
Germany, in the Continental Biogeographical Region of Europe. In terms of vegetation (and Natura 2000 habitats), the area is similar to the Kalmthoutse Heide: a
complex mixture of dry and wet heathlands, inland dunes, open grasslands and forested areas. Its history, however, is different. Whereas Kalmthoutse Heide has been
a nature reserve attracting visitors for almost a century, Wahner Heide was used as
military training grounds up until the 1990s. During that time, exercises with heavy
military tanks kept the area open, while at the same time inaccessible to the public.
Once the military use was discontinued, the area underwent a transition into successional forests and the use as a local recreation area increased. A management plan
is currently in place to preserve the open habitats.
Table 2 Overview of obtained accuracies of method transfer to later dates, for the Grenspark De
Zoom-Kalmthoutse Heide
Image date
Image
type
Training
sample size Level
OA
(%)
Avg. PA
(%)
Avg. UA
(%)
Kappa
2007–June–02 AHS
938
1
93.82
93.19
94.00
0.93
2
90.19
89.63
90.09
0.89
3
87.10
79.83
84.85
0.86
4
81.24
69.87
73.64
0.80
2010–June–28 APEX
1375
1
89.09
86.40
88.03
0.86
2
83.93
83.76
84.52
0.82
3
81.16
74.96
78.57
0.79
4
70.84
63.65
66.43
0.69
2011–June–27 APEX
687
1
87.48
87.59
87.86
0.85
2
83.99
83.10
84.38
0.82
3
77.87
71.32
74.49
0.76
4
69.87
62.67
64.45
0.68
2011–Sept–24 APEX
687
1
85.15
85.34
85.09
0.82
2
80.49
77.77
80.31
0.78
3
75.84
66.22
72.85
0.74
4
68.70
59.62
63.53
0.67
2012–July–02
APEX
686
1
87.32
87.70
87.71
0.85
2
81.49
78.91
79.16
0.79
3
74.20
66.13
68.97
0.72
4
67.64
58.55
59.59
0.65
AHS Airborne Hyperspectral Scanner, APEX Airborne Prism Experiment. Level: see Table 1, OA
overall accuracy, Avg. PA average producer’s accuracy, Avg. UA average user’s accuracy
Towards a Mature Age of Remote Sensing for Natura 2000 Habitat Conservation: Poor…