Recording small landscape features by object recognition : possibilities and limitations of automated procedures to support monitoring in the frame of the GeoCAP

In compliance with EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), a digital Land Parcel Information System (LPIS) exists in The Netherlands. However, its content is basically limited to the primarily (net) agricultural area. So far landscape features defined by the CAP EC law were not yet included. In commensurate with the possibility to add distinct landscape features to the area recorded in the LPIS, The Netherlands are seeking to find a digital procedure for their recording. This study is a reconnaissance of the possibilities for automated recognition of landscape features, using high resolution geo-datasets and aerial photography, including the infrared bands. The overall conclusion is, that technically it seems well possible to record small landscape features from existing datasets. The study was performed on a spatially limited area in The Netherlands. The results of this study show that several distinct landscape features can be recorded and differentiated in an automatic way to minimize the overall manual procedures for their recording appropriately. However, the operationalization of the determined procedures (i.e. data availability, storage space, processing capacity) necessary to apply the procedure on a nationwide scale are not subject to this study and will be subject to further investigations.