Spatial Gated Multi-Layer Perceptron for Land Use and Land Cover Mapping

Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) are models that are utilized extensively for the hierarchical extraction of features. Vision transformers (ViTs), through the use of a self-attention mechanism, have recently achieved superior modeling of global contextual information compared to CNNs. However, to realize their image classification strength, ViTs require substantial training datasets. Where the available training data are limited, current advanced multi-layer perceptrons (MLPs) can provide viable alternatives to both deep CNNs and ViTs. In this paper, we developed the SGU-MLP, a learning algorithm that effectively uses both MLPs and spatial gating units (SGUs) for precise land use land cover (LULC) mapping. Results illustrated the superiority of the developed SGU-MLP classification algorithm over several CNN and CNN-ViT-based models, including HybridSN, ResNet, iFormer, EfficientFormer and CoAtNet. The proposed SGU-MLP algorithm was tested through three experiments in Houston, USA, Berlin, Germany and Augsburg, Germany. The SGU-MLP classification model was found to consistently outperform the benchmark CNN and CNN-ViT-based algorithms. For example, for the Houston experiment, SGU-MLP significantly outperformed HybridSN, CoAtNet, Efficientformer, iFormer and ResNet by approximately 15%, 19%, 20%, 21%, and 25%, respectively, in terms of average accuracy. The code will be made publicly available at https://github.com/aj1365/SGUMLP

SoilNet: An Attention-based Spatio-temporal Deep Learning Framework for Soil Organic Carbon Prediction with Digital Soil Mapping in Europe

Digital soil mapping (DSM) is an advanced approach that integrates statistical modeling and cutting-edge technologies, including machine learning (ML) methods, to accurately depict soil properties and their spatial distribution. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a crucial soil attribute providing valuable insights into soil health, nutrient cycling, greenhouse gas emissions, and overall ecosystem productivity. This study highlights the significance of spatial-temporal deep learning (DL) techniques within the DSM framework. A novel architecture is proposed, incorporating spatial information using a base convolutional neural network (CNN) model and spatial attention mechanism, along with climate temporal information using a long short-term memory (LSTM) network, for SOC prediction across Europe. The model utilizes a comprehensive set of environmental features, including Landsat-8 images, topography, remote sensing indices, and climate time series, as input features. Results demonstrate that the proposed framework outperforms conventional ML approaches like random forest commonly used in DSM, yielding lower root mean square error (RMSE). This model is a robust tool for predicting SOC and could be applied to other soil properties, thereby contributing to the advancement of DSM techniques and facilitating land management and decision-making processes based on accurate information.

Neighborhood Attention Makes the Encoder of ResUNet Stronger for Accurate Road Extraction

In the domain of remote sensing image interpretation, road extraction from high-resolution aerial imagery has already been a hot research topic. Although deep CNNs have presented excellent results for semantic segmentation, the efficiency and capabilities of vision transformers are yet to be fully researched. As such, for accurate road extraction, a deep semantic segmentation neural network that utilizes the abilities of residual learning, HetConvs, UNet, and vision transformers, which is called \texttt{ResUNetFormer}, is proposed in this letter. The developed \texttt{ResUNetFormer} is evaluated on various cutting-edge deep learning-based road extraction techniques on the public Massachusetts road dataset. Statistical and visual results demonstrate the superiority of the \texttt{ResUNetFormer} over the state-of-the-art CNNs and vision transformers for segmentation. The code will be made available publicly at \url{https://github.com/aj1365/ResUNetFormer}.