Key issues in rigorous accuracy assessment of land cover products

Stehman, Stephen V.; Foody, Giles M.

Abstract

© 2019 Accuracy assessment and land cover mapping have been inexorably linked throughout the first 50 years of publication of Remote Sensing of Environment. The earliest developers of land-cover maps recognized the importance of evaluating the quality of their maps, and the methods and reporting format of these early accuracy assessments included features that would be familiar to practitioners today. Specifically, practitioners have consistently recognized the importance of obtaining high quality reference data to which the map is compared, the need for sampling to collect these reference data, and the role of an error matrix and accuracy measures derived from the error matrix to summarize the accuracy information. Over the past half century these techniques have undergone refinements to place accuracy assessment on a more scientifically credible footing. We describe the current status of accuracy assessment that has emerged from nearly 50 years of practice and identify opportunities for future advances. The article is organized by the three major components of accuracy assessment, the sampling design, response design, and analysis, focusing on good practice methodology that contributes to a rigorous, informative, and honest assessment. The long history of research and applications underlying the current practice of accuracy assessment has advanced the field to a mature state. However, documentation of accuracy assessment methods needs to be improved to enhance reproducibility and transparency, and improved methods are required to address new challenges created by advanced technology that has expanded the capacity to map land cover extensively in space and intensively in time.

Citation

Stehman, S. V., & Foody, G. M. (2019). Key issues in rigorous accuracy assessment of land cover products. Remote Sensing of Environment, 231, Article 111199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2019.05.018

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 14, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Jun 12, 2019
• Publication Date: Sep 15, 2019
• Deposit Date: Jul 15, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 13, 2020
• Journal: Remote Sensing of Environment
• Print ISSN: 0034-4257
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 231
• Article Number: 111199
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2019.05.018
• Keywords: Computers in Earth Sciences; Soil Science; Geology
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2306994
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0034425719302111
• Additional Information: This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: Key issues in rigorous accuracy assessment of land cover products; Journal Title: Remote Sensing of Environment; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2019.05.018