91
© Springer International Publishing AG 2017
R. Díaz-Delgado et al. (eds.), The Roles of Remote Sensing in Nature Conservation,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-64332-8_6
Mapping Coastal Habitats in Wales
Gwawr Jones, Peter Bunting, and Clive Hurford
Abstract Many areas across Europe are mapped and monitored using a large range
of different data types, sources and classification schemes leading to gaps in the
knowledge required to fulfill the European Council’s Habitats Directive (1992). The
Earth Observation Data for Habitat Monitoring (EODHaM) system, developed during the EU FP7 BioSOS project, introduces a systematic, hierarchical approach that
is applicable to all sites and available as a standard, providing classifications of high
value for conservation and biodiversity purposes (Lucas et al. Int J Appl Earth
Observ Geoinf 37:17–28, 2015). The system is built on the Land Cover Classification
System (LCCS) developed by the FAO for use in the field. The aim of this project is
to generate accurate maps of the location, extent and condition of coastal Annex I
habitats at Kenfig Burrows Special Area of Conservation (SAC), using VHR
Worldview-2 data.
Indices, such as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) allow straightforward visual threshold determination in the rule base, classifying LCCS Level 3
with accuracies of 90% and above. Beyond Level 3, in situ data is key for training
and validating EO data to determine if (a) lifeforms/habitats are separable with the
available EO data, and (b) suitable thresholds can be determined for classification.
Numerous indices can be calculated, and using the GPS point training data, a separability analysis based on Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) allows those with the
highest separation scores to be chosen as layers for classification. By plotting the
G. Jones (*)
Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), Peterborough, UK
Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, UK
e-mail: gwawr.jones@jncc.gov.uk
P. Bunting
Earth Observation and Ecosystem Dynamics Group, Department of Geography
and Earth Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth SY23 3DB, UK
e-mail: pfb@aber.ac.uk
C. Hurford
Natural Resources Wales, Cardiff, Cardiff, UK
e-mail: churford5@gmail.com
© Springer International Publishing AG 2017
R. Díaz-Delgado et al. (eds.), The Roles of Remote Sensing in Nature Conservation,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-64332-8_6
Mapping Coastal Habitats in Wales
Gwawr Jones, Peter Bunting, and Clive Hurford
Abstract Many areas across Europe are mapped and monitored using a large range
of different data types, sources and classification schemes leading to gaps in the
knowledge required to fulfill the European Council’s Habitats Directive (1992). The
Earth Observation Data for Habitat Monitoring (EODHaM) system, developed during the EU FP7 BioSOS project, introduces a systematic, hierarchical approach that
is applicable to all sites and available as a standard, providing classifications of high
value for conservation and biodiversity purposes (Lucas et al. Int J Appl Earth
Observ Geoinf 37:17–28, 2015). The system is built on the Land Cover Classification
System (LCCS) developed by the FAO for use in the field. The aim of this project is
to generate accurate maps of the location, extent and condition of coastal Annex I
habitats at Kenfig Burrows Special Area of Conservation (SAC), using VHR
Worldview-2 data.
Indices, such as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) allow straightforward visual threshold determination in the rule base, classifying LCCS Level 3
with accuracies of 90% and above. Beyond Level 3, in situ data is key for training
and validating EO data to determine if (a) lifeforms/habitats are separable with the
available EO data, and (b) suitable thresholds can be determined for classification.
Numerous indices can be calculated, and using the GPS point training data, a separability analysis based on Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) allows those with the
highest separation scores to be chosen as layers for classification. By plotting the
G. Jones (*)
Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), Peterborough, UK
Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, UK
e-mail: gwawr.jones@jncc.gov.uk
P. Bunting
Earth Observation and Ecosystem Dynamics Group, Department of Geography
and Earth Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth SY23 3DB, UK
e-mail: pfb@aber.ac.uk
C. Hurford
Natural Resources Wales, Cardiff, Cardiff, UK
e-mail: churford5@gmail.com