This analysis determined the best individual band and combinations of various numbers of bands for land use land cover mapping for three sites in Peru. The data included Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) optical data, PALSAR L-band dual-polarized radar, and derived radar texture images. Spectral signatures were first obtained for each site class and separability between classes determined using divergence measures. Results show that the best single band for analysis was a TM band, which was different for each site. For two of the three sites, the second best band was a radar texture image from a large window size. For all sites the best three bands included two TM bands and a radar texture image. The original PALSAR bands were of limited value. Finally upon further analysis it was determined that no more than six bands were needed for viable classification at each study site.
Comparison of Two Algorithms for Land Cover Mapping Based on Hyperspectral Imagery