Combination of Genetic Algorithm and Dempster-shafer Theory of Evidence for Land Cover Classification Using Integration of Sar and Optical Satellite Imagery

The integration of different kinds of remotely sensed data, in particular Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and optical satellite imagery, is considered a promising approach for land cover classification because of the complimentary properties of each data source. However, the challenges are: how to fully exploit the capabilities of these multiple data sources, which combined datasets should be used and which data processing and classification techniques are most appropriate in order to achieve the best results. In this paper an approach, in which synergistic use of a feature selection (FS) methods with Genetic Algorithm (GA) and multiple classifiers combination based on Dempster-Shafer Theory of Evidence, is proposed and evaluated for classifying land cover features in New South Wales, Australia. Multi-date SAR data, including ALOS/PALSAR, ENVISAT/ASAR and optical (Landsat 5 TM+) images, were used for this study. Textural information were also derived and integrated with the original images. Various combined datasets were generated for classification. Three classifiers, namely Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Support Vector Machines (SVMs) and Self-Organizing Map (SOM) were employed. Firstly, feature selection using GA was applied for each classifier and dataset to determine the optimal input features and parameters. Then the results of three classifiers on particular datasets were combined using the Dempster-Shafer theory of Evidence. Results of this study demonstrate the advantages of the proposed method for land cover mapping using complex datasets. It is revealed that the use of GA in conjunction with the Dempster-Shafer Theory of Evidence can significantly improve the classification accuracy. Furthermore, integration of SAR and optical data often outperform single-type datasets.