| Although satellite imagery is becoming a basic component of the work of ecologists and conservationists, its potential and reliability are still relatively unknown for a large number of ecosystems. Using Landsat 7/ETM+ (Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus) data, we tested the accuracy of two types of supervised classifications for mapping 13 peatland habitats in southern Quebec, Canada. Before classifying peatland habitats, we applied a mask procedure that revealed 629 peatlands covering a total of 18,103 ha; 26% of them were larger than 20 ha. We applied both a simple maximum likelihood (ML) function and a weighted maximum likelihood (WML) function that took into account the proportion of each habitat class within each peatland when classifying the habitats on... |
