Machine Learning-Based Land Cover Mapping of Nanfeng Village with Emphasis on Landslide Detection

Kieu Anh Nguyen, Chiao-Shin Huang and Walter Chen ()
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Kieu Anh Nguyen: Department of Civil Engineering, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei 10608, Taiwan
Chiao-Shin Huang: Department of Civil Engineering, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei 10608, Taiwan
Walter Chen: Department of Civil Engineering, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei 10608, Taiwan

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 18, 1-20

Abstract: Landslides pose a significant threat to Taiwan’s mountainous regions, particularly after extreme weather events such as typhoons. This study introduces a machine learning framework for post-disaster land use-land cover (LULC) classification and landslide detection in Nanfeng Village, central Taiwan, following Typhoon Khanun in August 2023. Using high-resolution Pléiades imagery and 22 environmental and spectral factors, a Random Forest classifier was developed. To address class imbalance, the Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique (SMOTE) was systematically evaluated across multiple variants. The Distance_SMOTE method yielded the best results, increasing overall accuracy from 74% to 85% and the Kappa coefficient from 0.69 to 0.82. F1-scores for landslides, roads, and grassland improved markedly, reaching 0.97, 0.85, and 0.78, respectively. The optimized model produced accurate pre- and post-typhoon LULC maps, revealing significant expansion of landslide zones after the event. This study demonstrates the practical value of combining SMOTE-based resampling with Random Forest for rapid, reliable post-disaster assessment, offering actionable insights for disaster response and land management in data-imbalanced conditions. By enabling timely mapping of hazard-affected areas and informing targeted recovery actions, the approach supports disaster risk reduction, sustainable land use planning, and ecosystem restoration. These outcomes contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 15 (Life on Land), by strengthening community resilience, promoting climate adaptation, and protecting terrestrial ecosystems in hazard-prone regions.

Keywords: Nanfeng Village; Typhoon Khanun; post-disaster land cover mapping; landslide detection; Pléiades imagery; distance-SMOTE; random forest; Taiwan (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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