[GIS] Best Landsat band for forest classification

bandclassificationlandsatqgisremote sensing

Using Qgis and the Semi-Automatic Plugin for Classification, which are the best Landsat bands to use to classify trees species (in central Argentina)? In Landsat 5, 7 and 8?

Best Answer

The short answer is: all of them. Most classification algorithms can derive useful information from all of the bands. However, there are certainly bands that are better at discriminating between vegetation types. You may also want to incorporate band indices such as NDVI or EVI into your classification algorithm. NASA produced some useful tables to help answer What are the best spectral bands to use for my study? (Source):

Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS)

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Landsat 4-5 Thematic Mapper (TM) and Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+)

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