Retrieval of non-optical active water quality parameters in complex Lake environments using a novel zoning-based ensemble modeling strategy

Remote sensing technology has provided significant support for the spatial and quantitative limitations of traditional water quality monitoring methods. However, accurate retrieval of non-optically active water quality parameters (NAWQPs) remains challenging due to their weak spectral responses and...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Cheng Cai, Linlin Liu, Ziming Wang, Wei Pang, Congshuo Bai, Huanxue Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-07-01
Series:Ecological Indicators
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25006533
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850099627559223296
author Cheng Cai
Linlin Liu
Ziming Wang
Wei Pang
Congshuo Bai
Huanxue Zhang
author_facet Cheng Cai
Linlin Liu
Ziming Wang
Wei Pang
Congshuo Bai
Huanxue Zhang
author_sort Cheng Cai
collection DOAJ
description Remote sensing technology has provided significant support for the spatial and quantitative limitations of traditional water quality monitoring methods. However, accurate retrieval of non-optically active water quality parameters (NAWQPs) remains challenging due to their weak spectral responses and interference from diverse aquatic vegetation. In this study, we proposed a novel zoning-based ensemble modeling strategy (ZBEMS) by integrating aquatic vegetation classification with hyperspectral features derived from ZY-1 02D images, and tested it in Nansi Lake to retrieve NAWQPs (ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and dissolved oxygen (DO)). Firstly, diverse aquatic vegetation was identified using aquatic vegetation index (AVI), floating algae index (FAI), and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and the dominant type within each 3 × 3 Km grid determined vegetation zones (floating emergent vegetation (FEVA), submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), and algae bloom (AB)). Secondly, multi-spectral scale morphological combination features (MSMCF) were extracted from the ZY-1 02D images. Finally, the ZBEMS integrating four machine learning models (Random Forest Regression (RFR), Gradient Boosting Regressor (GBR), eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), and Support Vector Regression (SVR)) was applied across different zones for NAWQPs retrieval. Within the sampling area, the model achieved R2 values of 0.56, 0.54, and 0.57 and root mean square errors (RMSE) of 0.04 mg/L, 4.56 mg/L, and 1.87 mg/L for retrieval of NH3-N, COD, and DO, respectively. Compared with traditional ensemble learning models, ZBEMS model improved the R2 by approximately 0.13 for three parameters. These results indicate that the ZBEMS offers a promising approach for NAWQPs retrieval in complex aquatic environments.
format Article
id doaj-art-84c19c7370694788a60e073edaa8b59b
institution DOAJ
issn 1470-160X
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Ecological Indicators
spelling doaj-art-84c19c7370694788a60e073edaa8b59b2025-08-20T02:40:27ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2025-07-0117611372310.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113723Retrieval of non-optical active water quality parameters in complex Lake environments using a novel zoning-based ensemble modeling strategyCheng Cai0Linlin Liu1Ziming Wang2Wei Pang3Congshuo Bai4Huanxue Zhang5College of Geography and Environment, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250300, ChinaCollege of Geography and Environment, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250300, ChinaCollege of Geography and Environment, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250300, ChinaCollege of Geography and Environment, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250300, ChinaCollege of Geography and Environment, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250300, ChinaCollege of Geography and Environment, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250300, China; State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Beijing 100101, China; Corresponding author.Remote sensing technology has provided significant support for the spatial and quantitative limitations of traditional water quality monitoring methods. However, accurate retrieval of non-optically active water quality parameters (NAWQPs) remains challenging due to their weak spectral responses and interference from diverse aquatic vegetation. In this study, we proposed a novel zoning-based ensemble modeling strategy (ZBEMS) by integrating aquatic vegetation classification with hyperspectral features derived from ZY-1 02D images, and tested it in Nansi Lake to retrieve NAWQPs (ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and dissolved oxygen (DO)). Firstly, diverse aquatic vegetation was identified using aquatic vegetation index (AVI), floating algae index (FAI), and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and the dominant type within each 3 × 3 Km grid determined vegetation zones (floating emergent vegetation (FEVA), submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), and algae bloom (AB)). Secondly, multi-spectral scale morphological combination features (MSMCF) were extracted from the ZY-1 02D images. Finally, the ZBEMS integrating four machine learning models (Random Forest Regression (RFR), Gradient Boosting Regressor (GBR), eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), and Support Vector Regression (SVR)) was applied across different zones for NAWQPs retrieval. Within the sampling area, the model achieved R2 values of 0.56, 0.54, and 0.57 and root mean square errors (RMSE) of 0.04 mg/L, 4.56 mg/L, and 1.87 mg/L for retrieval of NH3-N, COD, and DO, respectively. Compared with traditional ensemble learning models, ZBEMS model improved the R2 by approximately 0.13 for three parameters. These results indicate that the ZBEMS offers a promising approach for NAWQPs retrieval in complex aquatic environments.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25006533Remote SensingNAWQPsHyperspectral ImagingAquatic vegetationEnsemble Learning
spellingShingle Cheng Cai
Linlin Liu
Ziming Wang
Wei Pang
Congshuo Bai
Huanxue Zhang
Retrieval of non-optical active water quality parameters in complex Lake environments using a novel zoning-based ensemble modeling strategy
Ecological Indicators
Remote Sensing
NAWQPs
Hyperspectral Imaging
Aquatic vegetation
Ensemble Learning
title Retrieval of non-optical active water quality parameters in complex Lake environments using a novel zoning-based ensemble modeling strategy
title_full Retrieval of non-optical active water quality parameters in complex Lake environments using a novel zoning-based ensemble modeling strategy
title_fullStr Retrieval of non-optical active water quality parameters in complex Lake environments using a novel zoning-based ensemble modeling strategy
title_full_unstemmed Retrieval of non-optical active water quality parameters in complex Lake environments using a novel zoning-based ensemble modeling strategy
title_short Retrieval of non-optical active water quality parameters in complex Lake environments using a novel zoning-based ensemble modeling strategy
title_sort retrieval of non optical active water quality parameters in complex lake environments using a novel zoning based ensemble modeling strategy
topic Remote Sensing
NAWQPs
Hyperspectral Imaging
Aquatic vegetation
Ensemble Learning
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25006533
work_keys_str_mv AT chengcai retrievalofnonopticalactivewaterqualityparametersincomplexlakeenvironmentsusinganovelzoningbasedensemblemodelingstrategy
AT linlinliu retrievalofnonopticalactivewaterqualityparametersincomplexlakeenvironmentsusinganovelzoningbasedensemblemodelingstrategy
AT zimingwang retrievalofnonopticalactivewaterqualityparametersincomplexlakeenvironmentsusinganovelzoningbasedensemblemodelingstrategy
AT weipang retrievalofnonopticalactivewaterqualityparametersincomplexlakeenvironmentsusinganovelzoningbasedensemblemodelingstrategy
AT congshuobai retrievalofnonopticalactivewaterqualityparametersincomplexlakeenvironmentsusinganovelzoningbasedensemblemodelingstrategy
AT huanxuezhang retrievalofnonopticalactivewaterqualityparametersincomplexlakeenvironmentsusinganovelzoningbasedensemblemodelingstrategy