This time-series land-use and land-cover (LULC) classification dataset is derived from 1985 to 2016 Landsat multispectral imagery for the Cold Lake Oil Sands Area portion that falls within the Lower Athabasca Regional Plan (LARP) area. As part of Alberta’s Land-use Framework, LARP was developed in 2012 to set the stage for robust growth, vibrant communities and a healthy environment within the region. One of its implementation objectives is to balance the economic development of oil sands and impacts on ecosystem and environment. This is to be achieved through enhanced science-based monitoring for improved characterization of the environment and collection of the information necessary to understand cumulative effects.
This land classification raster dataset contains 11 classes: 0 - Unclassified, 1 - Shrubland, 2 - Grassland, 3 - Coniferous Forest, 4 - Deciduous Forest, 5 - Open Water, 6 - Wetland (Bog/Fen/Marsh/Swamp), 7 - Exposed Land/Bare Soil, 8 - Cropland/Pasture, 9 - Developed Footprints, and 10 - Fire Scar. These categories can be used as baseline data for planning, managing and monitoring surface infrastructure needs and impacts.
The time-series are stacked to create a 16-band TIFF image with each band representing a five-year interval between 1985 and 2005 and an annual interval between 2005 and 2016.
The Overall accuracy is the total number of correctly classified pixels divided by the total number of pixels in the error matrix N.
The Producer accuracy is an indication of the probability of a reference pixel being correctly classified. It is calculated by dividing the number of correctly classified pixels in a class by the total number of pixels in that class.
The User accuracy is a ratio of the total number of correctly classified pixels in a class divided by the total number of pixels that were classified in that class. It indicates the probability that a pixel classified on the map represents that class on the ground.
The Kappa coefficient indicates if the accuracy level is significantly better than a random result, providing a better comparison of different classifications.
LULC Classification result of 1985
Overall Accuracy = (5806056/7441216) 78.0256%
Kappa Coefficient = 0.7070
Class|Producer Accuracy (%)|User Accuracy (%)|Producer Accuracy (Pixel Ratio)|User Accuracy (Pixel Ratio)
Shrubland|28.85|29.27|126043/436878|126043/430676
Grassland|65.76|6.4|15053/22890|15053/235042
Coniferous Forest|81.36|81.67|1545234/1899327|1545234/1892003
Deciduous Forest|80.63|87.52|2437549/3023252|2437549/2785287
Open Water|95.42|96.97|1015750/1064518|1015750/1047519
Wetland|45.11|41.93|257798/571496|257798/614796
Exposed Land/|97.45|94.87|388690/398861|388690/409687
Developed Footprints|83.1|76.09|19939/23994|19939/26206
LULC Classification result of 1990
Overall Accuracy = (5094516/6498047) 78.4007%
Kappa Coefficient = 0.7068
Class|Producer Accuracy (%)|User Accuracy (%)|Producer Accuracy (Pixel Ratio)|User Accuracy (Pixel Ratio)
Shrubland|29.95|23.48|86727/289582|86727/369356
Grassland|67.06|9.71|15094/22507|15094/155510
Coniferous Forest|82.58|84.22|1458472/1766226|1458472/1731749
Deciduous Forest|77.47|90.43|2153206/2779486|2153206/2381139
Open Water|95.5|96.75|974597/1020508|974597/1007339
Wetland|55.08|36.66|241220/437908|241220/658009
Exposed Land|86.03|87.56|89534/104078|89534/102257
Developed Footprints|97.32|81.64|75666/77752|75666/92688
LULC Classification result of 1995
Overall Accuracy = (5022534/6267540) 80.1357%
Kappa Coefficient = 0.7226
Class|Producer Accuracy (%)|User Accuracy (%)|Producer Accuracy (Pixel Ratio)|User Accuracy (Pixel Ratio)
Shrubland|30.6|25.73|90312/295106|90312/350984
Grassland|68.38|10.43|14506/21213|14506/139013
Coniferous Forest|82.87|84.3|1461098/1763077|1461098/1733292
Deciduous Forest|81.37|90.77|2263872/2782040|2263872/2493977
Open Water|98.78|98.56|886834/897762|886834/899818
Wetland|53.92|42.74|235162/436152|235162/550173
Exposed Land|99.99|72.86|45079/45084|45079/61868
Developed Footprints|94.71|66.83|25671/27106|25671/38415
LULC Classification result of 2000
Overall Accuracy = (5695179/7166436) 79.4702%
Kappa Coefficient = 0.7186
Class|Producer Accuracy (%)|User Accuracy (%)|Producer Accuracy (Pixel Ratio)|User Accuracy (Pixel Ratio)
Shrubland|36.26|36.82|166392/458894|166392/451952
Grassland|70.28|9.68|17529/24940|17529/181138
Coniferous Forest|82.51|83.75|1575407/1909460|1575407/1881028
Deciduous Forest|83.06|88.8|2519958/3033866|2519958/2837811
Open Water|93.35|97.9|993719/1064513|993719/1015045
Wetland|56.59|48.29|323465/571562|323465/669804
Exposed Land|98.75|77.46|52480/53145|52480/67748
Developed Footprints|92.35|74.67|46229/50056|46229/61910
LULC Classification result of 2005
Overall Accuracy = (5554510/7063944) 78.6319%
Kappa Coefficient = 0.7092
Class|Producer Accuracy (%)|User Accuracy (%)|Producer Accuracy (Pixel Ratio)|User Accuracy (Pixel Ratio)
Shrubland|38.71|37.32|176162/455037|176162/472081
Grassland|62.72|9.13|17268/27532|17268/189168
Coniferous Forest|82.68|83.8|1569755/1898567|1569755/1873124
Deciduous Forest|79.49|88.81|2405063/3025560|2405063/2707975
Open Water|98.68|98.81|910049/922189|910049/921051
Wetland|56.49|44.96|318831/564405|318831/709088
Exposed Land|96.35|83.81|104602/108567|104602/124806
Developed Footprints|85.01|79.19|52780/62087|52780/66651
LULC Classification result of 2006
Overall Accuracy = (5435110/6963814) 78.0479%
Kappa Coefficient = 0.6989
Class|Producer Accuracy (%)|User Accuracy (%)|Producer Accuracy (Pixel Ratio)|User Accuracy (Pixel Ratio)
Shrubland|36.94|37.03|168092/455036|168092/453977
Grassland|66.37|9.11|18274/27532|18274/200620
Coniferous Forest|82.65|82.83|1569487/1898863|1569487/1894733
Deciduous Forest|78.37|89.03|2371010/3025558|2371010/2663282
Open Water|98.48|99.08|908186/922190|908186/916648
Wetland|59.3|45.24|334771/564575|334771/740023
Exposed Land|96.65|43.85|18617/19263|18617/42459
Developed Footprints|91.88|89.63|46673/50797|46673/52072
LULC Classification result of 2007
Overall Accuracy = (5542212/7043139) 78.6895%
Kappa Coefficient = 0.7098
Class|Producer Accuracy (%)|User Accuracy (%)|Producer Accuracy (Pixel Ratio)|User Accuracy (Pixel Ratio)
Shrubland|34.74|36.5|156464/450418|156464/428712
Grassland|65.1|8.54|17778/27307|17778/208215
Coniferous Forest|82.94|83.32|1571899/1895187|1571899/1886650
Deciduous Forest|79.65|88.74|2404609/3018879|2404609/2709835
Open Water|98.9|99.16|888735/898606|888735/896294
Wetland|57.35|46.38|321681/560950|321681/693554
Exposed Land|96.46|82.05|132040/136886|132040/160919
Developed Footprints|89.25|83.12|49006/54906|49006/58960
LULC Classification result of 2008
Overall Accuracy = (5498906/7001753) 78.5361%
Kappa Coefficient = 0.7059
Class|Producer Accuracy (%)|User Accuracy (%)|Producer Accuracy (Pixel Ratio)|User Accuracy (Pixel Ratio)
Shrubland|33.37|35.95|151543/454080|151543/421548
Grassland|66.13|8.09|18198/27520|18198/224928
Coniferous Forest|83.1|83.29|1575549/1895948|1575549/1891532
Deciduous Forest|79.85|88.35|2412726/3021414|2412726/2730857
Open Water|98.91|99.14|897619/907521|897619/905383
Wetland|56.92|47.12|321024/564039|321024/681289
Exposed Land|96.78|81.46|76081/78612|76081/93402
Developed Footprints|87.74|87.41|46166/52619|46166/52814
LULC Classification result of 2009
Overall Accuracy = (5569088/7035073) 79.1618%
Kappa Coefficient = 0.7163
Class|Producer Accuracy (%)|User Accuracy (%)|Producer Accuracy (Pixel Ratio)|User Accuracy (Pixel Ratio)
Shrubland|32.32|36.24|144652/447497|144652/399142
Grassland|66.65|7.71|17666/26506|17666/229143
Coniferous Forest|83.79|84.06|1586747/1893615|1586747/1887580
Deciduous Forest|79.81|88.98|2406292/3014889|2406292/2704242
Open Water|98.81|99.41|896681/907521|896681/901984
Wetland|61.49|48.85|342376/556774|342376/700933
Exposed Land|96.12|82.3|125779/130861|125779/152827
Developed Footprints|85.17|82.56|48895/57410|48895/59222
LULC Classification result of 2010
Overall Accuracy = (5086383/6488945) 78.3854%
Kappa Coefficient = 0.6938
Class|Producer Accuracy (%)|User Accuracy (%)|Producer Accuracy (Pixel Ratio)|User Accuracy (Pixel Ratio)
Shrubland|32.07|35.82|135459/422409|135459/378180
Grassland|64.95|7.68|16065/24734|16065/209049
Coniferous Forest|84.26|84.05|1580103/1875293|1580103/1879945
Deciduous Forest|80.62|89.08|2401962/2979287|2401962/2696471
Open Water|98.54|98.72|542522/550564|542522/549536
Wetland|60.36|48.46|318280/527346|318280/656803
Exposed Land|95.36|42.01|16253/17043|16253/38693
Developed Footprints|82.08|94.36|75739/92269|75739/80268
LULC Classification result of 2011
Overall Accuracy = (5022619/6433520) 78.0695%
Kappa Coefficient = 0.6885
Class|Producer Accuracy (%)|User Accuracy (%)|Producer Accuracy (Pixel Ratio)|User Accuracy (Pixel Ratio)
Shrubland|31.62|35.39|133020/420708|133020/375905
Grassland|62.48|7.06|15440/24710|15440/218804
Coniferous Forest|84.4|83.9|1581579/1874018|1581579/1885076
Deciduous Forest|79.78|89.42|2374749/2976575|2374749/2655710
Open Water|98.8|98.93|535051/541535|535051/540814
Wetland|60.95|47.36|320026/525066|320026/675714
Exposed Land|89.6|28.66|4896/5464|4896/17085
Developed Footprints|88.41|89.82|57858/65444|57858/64412
LULC Classification result of 2012
Overall Accuracy = (4991627/6401233) 77.9791%
Kappa Coefficient = 0.6864
Class|Producer Accuracy (%)|User Accuracy (%)|Producer Accuracy (Pixel Ratio)|User Accuracy (Pixel Ratio)
Shrubland|31.38|35.05|131978/420525|131978/376540
Grassland|61.72|6.97|15247/24704|15247/218823
Coniferous Forest|84.36|84.14|1580932/1873989|1580932/1878878
Deciduous Forest|79.59|89.45|2368567/2975942|2368567/2647833
Open Water|98.87|98.97|512799/518669|512799/518122
Wetland|62.08|47.3|325894/525000|325894/689066
Exposed Land|91.48|28.56|4015/4389|4015/14056
Developed Footprints|89.97|90.12|52195/58015|52195/57915
LULC Classification result of 2013
Overall Accuracy = (5004694/6402254) 78.1708%
Kappa Coefficient = 0.6934
Class|Producer Accuracy (%)|User Accuracy (%)|Producer Accuracy (Pixel Ratio)|User Accuracy (Pixel Ratio)
Shrubland|31.73|34.44|122000/384471|122000/354198
Grassland|65.19|6.79|13370/20509|13370/196986
Coniferous Forest|83.62|82.65|1535294/1835930|1535294/1857561
Deciduous Forest|79.18|89.37|2324615/2936013|2324615/2601181
Open Water|98.13|98.93|508990/518681|508990/514497
Wetland|61.64|45.5|298502/484245|298502/656019
Exposed Land|94.91|91.9|154573/162866|154573/168206
Developed Footprints|79.53|88.33|47350/59539|47350/53606
LULC Classification result of 2014
Overall Accuracy = (4542658/5724140) 79.3597%
Kappa Coefficient = 0.7070
Class|Producer Accuracy (%)|User Accuracy (%)|Producer Accuracy (Pixel Ratio)|User Accuracy (Pixel Ratio)
Shrubland|33.89|31.38|110454/325947|110454/351962
Grassland|63.16|2.79|4158/6583|4158/148900
Coniferous Forest|84.94|81.84|1195975/1407964|1195975/1461325
Deciduous Forest|78.52|90.72|2236393/2848312|2236393/2465138
Open Water|98.18|99.44|509314/518776|509314/512171
Wetland|61.52|38.05|171078/278084|171078/449561
Exposed Land|93.84|95.13|293910/313218|293910/308958
Developed Footprints|84.64|81.82|21376/25256|21376/26125
LULC Classification result of 2015
Overall Accuracy = (4483460/5918023) 75.7594%
Kappa Coefficient = 0.6551
Class|Producer Accuracy (%)|User Accuracy (%)|Producer Accuracy (Pixel Ratio)|User Accuracy (Pixel Ratio)
Shrubland|30.48|28.77|104073/341452|104073/361730
Grassland|62.59|8.69|14916/23833|14916/171622
Coniferous Forest|81.65|80.34|1346470/1649080|1346470/1675924
Deciduous Forest|76.36|89.95|2181476/2856691|2181476/2425133
Open Water|97.82|98.41|528007/539759|528007/536528
Wetland|58.67|43.28|273010/465313|273010/630871
Exposed Land|91.68|22.59|10171/11094|10171/45021
Developed Footprints|82.26|35.59|25337/30801|25337/71194
LULC Classification result of 2016
Overall Accuracy = (3681658/4897305) 75.1772%
Kappa Coefficient = 0.6589
Class|Producer Accuracy (%)|User Accuracy (%)|Producer Accuracy (Pixel Ratio)|User Accuracy (Pixel Ratio)
Shrubland|31.69|27.94|85457/269696|85457/305834
Grassland|62.64|4.56|5799/9258|5799/127277
Coniferous Forest|82.82|81.4|1156652/1396514|1156652/1421027
Deciduous Forest|72.18|89.3|1598745/2214977|1598745/1790299
Open Water|98.45|99.37|527920/536234|527920/531245
Wetland|60.37|38.55|215627/357180|215627/559348
Exposed Land|78.97|66.08|69391/87866|69391/105016
Developed Footprints|86.27|38.54|22067/25580|22067/57259
The accuracy assessment of the LULC classification result was conducted using the Digital Integrated Dispositions (DIDs) and Alberta Merged Wetland Inventory (AMWI) data from the Government of Alberta, and the Alberta Ground Cover Classification (AGCC) datasets for 2000.
The Cropland/Pasture class was excluded from accuracy assessment since this class was attributed based on agricultural land data sourced from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. In addition, the Fire Scar class was excluded from the accuracy assessment since this class was attributed by matching historical wildfire data sourced from the Government of Alberta that fall within the Exposed Land/Bare Soil class.
A major component of this dataset is derived from Ducks Unlimited Canada's drained and boreal Enhanced Wetland Classification inventories.
Http://www.capf.ca/pdfs/AWCS%20Draft%20requesting%20Public%20Feedback.pdf
Process steps were performed in ENVI 5.4 software to produce the classification map:
1. Annual Landsat Best Available Pixel Composite (LBAPC) data from 1984 to 2012 with 30 m spatial resolution were obtained from the Natural Resources Canada / Pacific Forestry Centre. Of these, the 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005 to 2012 data were used as inputs to produce this time-series LULC classification stack. LBAPC data from 2013 and 2014 were obtained from the University of Maryland. In addition, 2015 and 2016 LBAPC data were produced in-house using the Google Earth Engine.
2. Ground-reference datasets were created from DIDs, AMWI, and AGCC data.
3. A Maximum Likelihood classification algorithm was applied to the LBAPC data to produce LULC classifications for the Shrubland, Grassland, Coniferous Forest, Deciduous Forest, Open Water, Wetland (Bog/Fen/Marsh/Swamp), and Exposed Land/Bare Soil classes.
4. The Developed Footprint class was produced using the Constraint Energy Minimization and Spectral Angle Mapper partial unmixing method followed by a K-Means clustering. Post-classification techniques (i.e., majority filter, high-pass filter, clump, and sieve) were applied to all of the classes to refine the result and to minimize false detections. False detections (e.g., sandbars and fire scars misclassified as developed footprint) were further reduced by matching the DIDs areas that fall within this class.
5. The Cropland/Pasture class was attributed based on Normalized Difference Vegetation Index values > 0.7, contained in agricultural land data obtained from the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. In addition, Fire Scar class was attributed by matching historical wildfire data sourced from the Government of Alberta with the Exposed Land/Bare Soil class.
6. Classification maps were refined by keeping the classified areas constant over time for the areas that did not change over time based on the image-to-image changes extracted using the Normalized Difference Built-up Index from 1985 to 2005 with 5-year gap and annually from 2005 to 2016.
Part of the process steps were adapted from our previous work published in the following journal paper.
Chowdhury, S., Chao, D.K., Shipman, T.C. and Wulder, M.A. (2017): Utilization of Landsat data to quantify land-use and land-cover changes related to oil and gas activities in west-central Alberta from 2005 to 2013: GIScience and Remote Sensing, p. 700-720, at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15481603.2017.1317453.