Comparative accuracies of artificial neural networks and discriminant analysis in predicting forest cover types from cartographic variables

This study compared two alternative techniques for predicting forest cover types from cartographic variables. The study evaluated four wilderness areas in the Roosevelt National Forest, located in the Front Range of northern Colorado. Cover type data came from US Forest Service inventory information, while the cartographic variables used to predict cover type consisted of elevation, aspect, and other information derived from standard digital spatial data processed in a geographic information system (GIS). The results of the comparison indicated that a feedforward artificial neural network model more accurately predicted forest cover type than did a traditional statistical model based on Gaussian discriminant analysis. © 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.