Land cover classification over Yellow River basin using satellite data

Land cover classification over Yellow River basin, China, by means of simple decision tree classification method using multi-temporal metrics derived from MODIS data is shown in this paper. Since the land cover is one of the input parameters for the hydrological model, the critical feature of classification method is to control the classification result using threshold values. The tentative result shows good correlations with existing digital land use map, thou.-h the small overestimation or underestimation are recognized in several categories and the improvement is necessary in discriminating the single cropped agricultural field from natural grassland. The adjustments of the threshold values established in the decision tree would be done by the aid of higher resolution satellite data.