Land use classification of open-pit mine based on multi-scale segmentation and random forest model

The mining industry production is an important pillar industry in China, while its extensive production activities have led to several ecological and environmental problems. Earth observation technology using high-resolution satellite imagery can help us efficiently obtain information on surface elements, surveying and monitoring various land occupation issues arising from open-pit mining production activities. Conventional pixel-based interpretation methods for high-resolution remote sensing images are restricted by “salt and pepper” noise caused by environmental factors, making it difficult to meet increasing requirements for monitoring accuracy. With the Jingxiang phosphorus mining area in Jingmen Hubei Province as the studied area, this paper uses a multi-scale segmentation algorithm to extract large-scale main characteristic information using a layered mask method based on the hierarchical structure of the image object. The remaining characteristic elements were classified and extracted in combination with the random forest model and characteristic factors to obtain land occupation information related mining industry production, which was compared with the results of the Classification and Regression Tree model. 23 characteristic factors in three aspects were selected, including spectral, geometric and texture characteristics. The methods employed in this study achieved 86% and 0.78 respectively in overall extraction accuracy analysis and the Kappa coefficient analysis, compared to 79% and 0.68 using the conventional method.