Mapping of stream microhabitats with high spatial resolution hyperspectral imagery

Maximum likelihood supervised classifications with 1-m 128 band hyperspectral data accurately map in-stream habitats in the Lamar River, Wyoming with producer’s accuracies of 91% for pools, 87% for glides, 76% for riffles, and 85% for eddy drop zones. Coarser resolution 5-m hyperspectral data and 1-m simulated multiband imagery yield lower accuracies that are unacceptable for inventory and analysis. Both high spatial resolution and hyperspectral coverage are therefore necessary to map microhabitats in the study area. In many instances, the high spatial resolution hyperspectral (HSRH) imagery appears to map the stream habitats with greater accuracy than our ground-based surveys, thus challenging classical approaches used for accuracy assessment in remote sensing.