Hyperspectral Remote Sensing with Emphasis on Land Cover Mapping: From Ground to Satellite Observations

This chapter discusses the contribution of field spectroradiometry and hyperspectral remote sensing in extracting information related to land cover mapping. It provides an overview on the use of field spectroradiometry in examining the spectral discrimination between different land cover targets. An overview on the main statistical approaches employed in spectral separation of different land cover targets is provided. The chapter focuses on the use of hyperspectral remote sensing imagery from airborne or satellite platforms for obtaining regional estimates of land use/cover. An overview of the different techniques employed in mapping land cover types from such data is presented with examples from case studies. The chapter also discusses the importance of observation scale in land cover extraction using remote sensing data. Finally, it highlights the challenges toward a more precise estimation of land use/cover from field spectroradiometry and hyperspectral remote sensing with respect to spectral information acquired at different spatial scales.