Steffen Gebhardt

Comparison of change detection techniques for the Yucatan peninsula using Landsat image time series

Several change detection methods have been developed over the last decades and an even higher number during the last years due to the opening of the Landsat archive. Some change detection methods aim at all types of land surface alterations while others target specific types such as inundations, urbanization or forest cover change or even more specifically forest cover loss. Many methods were developed and tested for temperate regions where most cloud-free data are obtained during the growing season. In the tropics, however, cloud cover is highest during the period when vegetation is most active. This study tests two common approaches, the Vegetation Change Tracker (VCT) and the Iterative Multivariate Alteration Detection (IMAD) in the northwestern portion of the Yucatan peninsula using Landsat images. Results from change detection algorithm were compared to reference samples and reference polygons. Various parameter sets for the VCT algorithm never reach the accuracy level of IMAD.