Mapping submerged habitats and mangroves of Lampi Island Marine National Park (Myanmar) from in situ and satellite observations

In this study we produced the first thematic maps of submerged and coastal habitats of Lampi Island (Myanmar) from in situ and satellite data. To focus on key elements of bio-diversity typically existing in tropical islands the detection of corals, seagrass, and mangrove forests was addressed. Satellite data were acquired from Landsat-8; for the purpose of validation Rapid-Eye data were also used. In situ data supporting image processing were collected in a field campaign performed from 28 February to 4 March 2015 at the time of sensors overpasses. A hybrid approach based on bio-optical modeling and supervised classification techniques was applied to atmospherically-corrected Landsat-8 data. Bottom depth estimations, to be used in the classification process of shallow waters, were in good agreement with depth soundings (R2 = 0.87). Corals were classified with producer and user accuracies of 58% and 77%, while a lower accuracy (producer and user accuracies of 50%) was found for the seagrass due to the patchy distribution of meadows; accuracies more than 88% were obtained for mangrove forests. The classification indicated the presence of 18 mangroves sites with extension larger than 5 km2; for 15 of those the coexistence of corals and seagrass were also found in the fronting bays, suggesting a significant rate of biodiversity for the study area.