Crop Mapping from Landsat-8 Images Time Series Using Machine-Learning Methods (Case Study: Marvdasht in Fars Province)

One of the key priorities of the Ministry of Agriculture Jihad is the mapping of croplands to estimate crop acreage and annual yield. In recent decades, remote sensing technology has proven to be highly effective in estimating the extent of crop cultivation through the use of timely images and synchronized data with diverse spatial, temporal, and spectral resolutions, leveraging advanced machine-learning algorithms. This study presented a framework for crop mapping in Marvdasht, Fars Province, by utilizing time series of Landsat-8 satellite images and advanced machine-learning algorithms. The employed algorithms included Decision Tree (DT), Random Forest (RF), Rotation Forest (RoF), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) analysis. The results indicated that the dynamic time warping and random forest methods outperformed others, achieving significantly higher accuracy (with an overall accuracy improvement of 10-12%) in generating the agricultural land-use map of the study area. Furthermore, this research demonstrated the effectiveness of Bands 2-5 of Landsat-8 satellite in confidently identifying all crops in this region using the mentioned methods.