Mapping of Dominant Tree Species in Yunnan Province Based on Sentinel-2 Time-Series Data and Assessment of the Influence of Understory Background on Mapping Accuracy

Accurate information on the location of dominant tree species is essential for scientific forest management. However, factors like changes in forest phenology, stand conditions, and mixed understory backgrounds introduce uncertainties in remote sensing-based species mapping. To address these challenges, this study maps dominant tree species using time series Sentinel-2 data combined with environmental context data. To quantify the impact of understory background on mapping accuracy, this study applied a random forest inversion model to estimate the canopy cover across the study area. Binary contour plots and Pearson’s correlation coefficient were used to quantify the relationship between canopy cover and classification uncertainty at both the grid and pixels. A 10 m resolution map of dominant tree species in Yunnan Province, featuring eight species, was produced with an overall accuracy of 83.52% and a Kappa coefficient of 0.8115. The R2 value between the predicted and actual tree area proportions was greater than 0.93, with RMSEs consistently below 2.6. In addition, we observed strong negative correlations between different canopy cover classes. The correlations were −0.67 for low-cover areas, −0.40 for medium-cover areas, and −0.73 for high-cover areas. Our mapping framework enables the accurate identification of regional dominant species, and the established relationship between understory context and classification uncertainty provides valuable insights for analyzing potential mapping errors.