Classification of land use and land cover was the focus of this week's lab. An aerial photograph of an area of Pascagoula, MS was digitized to create a land use/land cover map. Features were identified using tone, pattern, shadows, size and shape, and associations, the subject of last week's lab, and then polygons were drawn around those features and classified. The USGS Standard Land Use/Land Cover Classification System we used has several levels - we worked at Level II. To begin, Level I classifications were identified, such as Urban or Built-up Land, Forest Land, and Water. Within each of those, Level II categories were located, such as Residential areas, Lakes, and Deciduous Forest Land. To create the map, the polygons were labeled, a logical color scheme was chosen to highlight the various categories, and the other essential map elements were added.
From this map, it is clear that Level II classification is quite general, and that by generalizing, many specific features and land types are incorrectly identified. Level III classification provides far better identification, but is obviously more time consuming.
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