Application of remote sensing methods and GIS technologies for the classification of lands in the Pushkin district of St. Petersburg
GIS technologies and methods of automated classification of remote sensing data are actively used in many countries in forest inventory, forest management planning and assessment of the state and characteristics of forests. The objectives of the study were to develop a methodology and conduct an automated classification of land categories for a large administrative-territorial unit based of remote sensing methods and GIS-technologies. The object of the study was the territory of the Pushkin district of St. Petersburg. On the territory of the Pushkin district are located a significant number of green zones (parks, squares, gardens, forest belts), some of which are included in the list of monuments protected by UNESCO. Also on the territory of the district are located industrial enterprises, large industrial zones, agriculture is developed. Lansat-8 satellite images and a set of maps for the study area were used as initial materials. GIS ArcGIS and MapInfo, programs ENVI and Trimble eCognition were used to collect, visualize and process data. Field work on the selection of reference (training) samples included the selection of sample plots in nature, photography, and determination of coordinates. The Landsat images were classified according to the results of two main operations - automated interpretation by the maximum likelihood method and determination of the vegetation indices of the land categories classes. After performing field verification, as well as performing processing and aggregation operations, the final thematic map of the classes of land categories in the Pushkin region was formed and the final tables of the distribution of areas by municipalities were obtained. The presented methodology, associated with the processing and interpretation of remote sensing materials by means of GIS technologies, can be considered as a modern tool for landscape analysis, state (national) forest inventory, and various types of territory monitoring.