STAC-Item - 2010 - 2005–2010 Medium Resolution Land Cover of Canada South of Treeline Derived from 20 m SPOT 4

The Systeme Pour l'Observation de la Terre (SPOT 4-5) satellites include four multispectral bands in the visible to shortwave infrared region at 20m spatial resolution. Five years of SPOT 4-5 data from 2005-2010 were necessary to image all of Canada under clear-sky conditions. These data were used to map 2005-2010 land cover south of treeline. This land cover product includes 16 generic classes based on plant functional type and a minimum mapping unit of 20m. Accuracy was assessed using ground truth data acquired during several field campaigns conducted with other government departments such as Parks Canada and the Geological Survey. This sample was enhanced using points interpreted in Google Earth to provide a more even spatial coverage of Canada. Overall accuracy was assessed at 71% using 1566 reference points, more than half of which were acquired in the field. When assessed using only land cover that was homogeneous within 3 by 3 pixels to account for potential geolocation errors, accuracy increased to 85% for 349 points that were biased towards easily classified classes such as water.

This third party metadata element follows the Spatio Temporal Asset Catalog (STAC) specification.