An Accuracy Index with Positional and Thematic Fuzzy Bounds for Land-use/Land-cover Maps

This paper proposes a comprehensive framework for the accuracy assessment of taxonomically diverse LULC maps. A widely accepted difficulty in assessing such maps is associated with the vagueness in the interpretation of complex landscapes. For every class of the map, this method quantified the thematic and positional fuzziness of accuracy, induced by this difficulty. The labeling protocol consisted of a fuzzy comparison between the map and a reference maplet, for which degrees of positional and thematic tolerance con be user-defined. The construction of reference maplets permitted a flexible analysis (comparable with the assessment of other maps) of the positional fuzziness of the reference dataset and of the vagueness of the assessment process, while the alternate evaluation protocol. based oil traditional point like data collection, did not allow, such analysis.