Land cover to habitat map translation: Disambiguation rules based on Earth Observation data

Earth Observation (EO) images have been extensively used to provide a synoptic view of land cover/use (LC/LU) patterns and land cover/use changes. Land covers are not as clearly relatable to biodiversity in comparison to habitat classifications which can provide more scope for biodiversity monitoring. The main purpose of the paper is to provide an automatic general framework for translating LC maps (in LCCS taxonomy) into habitat maps (in GHC taxonomy) by means of VHR remote sensing data.

1. Introduction

Earth Observation (EO) images provide a synoptic view of land cover/use (LC/LU) patterns and land cover/use changes (LCC), which are mainly related to human activities, with these influencing biodiversity loss [1]. Land covers are not as clearly relatable to biodiversity in comparison to habitat classifications, and provide less scope for monitoring. While a conversion from LC/LU classification to habitat classification can be of great utility, differences in definitions and criteria have so far limited the establishment of a unified approach for such translation between these two classification systems.