The impact of vegetation on lithological mapping using airborne multispectral data: a case study for the North Troodos Region, Cyprus
Vegetation cover can affect the lithological mapping capability of space- and airborne instruments because it obscures the spectral signatures of the underlying geological substrate. Despite being widely accepted as a hindrance, few studies have explicitly demonstrated the impact vegetation can have...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI
2014
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/33864/ |
| _version_ | 1848794723185065984 |
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| author | Grebby, Stephen Cunningham, Dickson Tansey, Kevin Naden, Jonathan |
| author_facet | Grebby, Stephen Cunningham, Dickson Tansey, Kevin Naden, Jonathan |
| author_sort | Grebby, Stephen |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Vegetation cover can affect the lithological mapping capability of space- and airborne instruments because it obscures the spectral signatures of the underlying geological substrate. Despite being widely accepted as a hindrance, few studies have explicitly demonstrated the impact vegetation can have on remote lithological mapping. Accordingly, this study comprehensively elucidates the impact of vegetation on the lithological mapping capability of airborne multispectral data in the Troodos region, Cyprus. Synthetic spectral mixtures were first used to quantify the potential impact vegetation cover might have on spectral recognition and remote mapping of different rock types. The modeled effects of green grass were apparent in the spectra of low albedo lithologies for 30%–40% fractional cover, compared to just 20% for dry grass cover. Lichen was found to obscure the spectra for 30%–50% cover, depending on the spectral contrast between bare rock and lichen cover. The subsequent impact of vegetation on the remote mapping capability is elucidated by considering the outcomes of three airborne multispectral lithological classifications alongside the spectral mixing analysis and field observations. Vegetation abundance was found to be the primary control on the inability to classify large proportions of pixels in the imagery. Matched Filtering outperformed direct spectral matching algorithms owing to its ability to partially unmix pixel spectra with vegetation abundance above the modeled limits. This study highlights that despite the limited spectral sampling and resolution of the sensor and dense, ubiquitous vegetation cover, useful lithological information can be extracted using an appropriate algorithm. Furthermore, the findings of this case study provide a useful insight to the potential capabilities and challenges faced when utilizing comparable sensors (e.g., Landsat 8, Sentinel-2, WorldView-3) to map similar types of terrain. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:20:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-33864 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:20:43Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | MDPI |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-338642020-05-04T16:57:45Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/33864/ The impact of vegetation on lithological mapping using airborne multispectral data: a case study for the North Troodos Region, Cyprus Grebby, Stephen Cunningham, Dickson Tansey, Kevin Naden, Jonathan Vegetation cover can affect the lithological mapping capability of space- and airborne instruments because it obscures the spectral signatures of the underlying geological substrate. Despite being widely accepted as a hindrance, few studies have explicitly demonstrated the impact vegetation can have on remote lithological mapping. Accordingly, this study comprehensively elucidates the impact of vegetation on the lithological mapping capability of airborne multispectral data in the Troodos region, Cyprus. Synthetic spectral mixtures were first used to quantify the potential impact vegetation cover might have on spectral recognition and remote mapping of different rock types. The modeled effects of green grass were apparent in the spectra of low albedo lithologies for 30%–40% fractional cover, compared to just 20% for dry grass cover. Lichen was found to obscure the spectra for 30%–50% cover, depending on the spectral contrast between bare rock and lichen cover. The subsequent impact of vegetation on the remote mapping capability is elucidated by considering the outcomes of three airborne multispectral lithological classifications alongside the spectral mixing analysis and field observations. Vegetation abundance was found to be the primary control on the inability to classify large proportions of pixels in the imagery. Matched Filtering outperformed direct spectral matching algorithms owing to its ability to partially unmix pixel spectra with vegetation abundance above the modeled limits. This study highlights that despite the limited spectral sampling and resolution of the sensor and dense, ubiquitous vegetation cover, useful lithological information can be extracted using an appropriate algorithm. Furthermore, the findings of this case study provide a useful insight to the potential capabilities and challenges faced when utilizing comparable sensors (e.g., Landsat 8, Sentinel-2, WorldView-3) to map similar types of terrain. MDPI 2014-11-07 Article PeerReviewed Grebby, Stephen, Cunningham, Dickson, Tansey, Kevin and Naden, Jonathan (2014) The impact of vegetation on lithological mapping using airborne multispectral data: a case study for the North Troodos Region, Cyprus. Remote Sensing, 6 (11). pp. 10860-10887. ISSN 2072-4292 lithological mapping; vegetation; multispectral; geology; Troodos ophiolite http://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/6/11/10860 doi:10.3390/rs61110860 doi:10.3390/rs61110860 |
| spellingShingle | lithological mapping; vegetation; multispectral; geology; Troodos ophiolite Grebby, Stephen Cunningham, Dickson Tansey, Kevin Naden, Jonathan The impact of vegetation on lithological mapping using airborne multispectral data: a case study for the North Troodos Region, Cyprus |
| title | The impact of vegetation on lithological mapping using airborne multispectral data: a case study for the North Troodos Region, Cyprus |
| title_full | The impact of vegetation on lithological mapping using airborne multispectral data: a case study for the North Troodos Region, Cyprus |
| title_fullStr | The impact of vegetation on lithological mapping using airborne multispectral data: a case study for the North Troodos Region, Cyprus |
| title_full_unstemmed | The impact of vegetation on lithological mapping using airborne multispectral data: a case study for the North Troodos Region, Cyprus |
| title_short | The impact of vegetation on lithological mapping using airborne multispectral data: a case study for the North Troodos Region, Cyprus |
| title_sort | impact of vegetation on lithological mapping using airborne multispectral data: a case study for the north troodos region, cyprus |
| topic | lithological mapping; vegetation; multispectral; geology; Troodos ophiolite |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/33864/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/33864/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/33864/ |