Crop identification and acreage measurement utilizing ERTS imagery
The author has identified the following significant results. Results of temporal overlays, equal and unequal prior probabilities, and independent test data are discussed. The amount of improvement that each technique contributed are summarized: (1) Results in Missouri where temporal overlays were made, show that temporal information improved the overall classification by 10%. (2) The dates were not optimum that were overlaid. (3) Data analysis in both Missouri and Idaho indicates that the use of prior probabilities improves the overall classification rates by at least 10% overusing the assumption that the crops are all equally likely. (4) Using both procedures together indicates that overall performance can be improved by 20% over one data and equal prior probabilities. (5) Idaho data has banding problems that may have caused serious problems in the crop classification. (6) The twelve crop types in Idaho seem to be quite similar spectrally, and hence, classification is quite difficult. (7) ERTS may not contain enough information to have perfect classification, but the data may still be useful for making crop acreage estimates. (8) Remotely sensed data could be used with a regression estimator if there is a correlation between ground data and classification results. (9) Remotely sensed data could be used with a double sample model.