Due to the shortage of single-scale accuracy assessment methods

this paper proposes a multi-scale accuracy assessment method based on histo-variograms

which assesses the accuracy of land cover datasets on a pixel and sub-pixel scale.On a pixel scale

a standing-pixel is introduced as the sample tool to accurately assess datasets directly

whereas on a sub-pixel scale

a nonstrictly defined standing-pixel and histo-variogram are applied to evaluate the accuracy of the dominant type in a mixed pixel with different areas and spatial structures.Taking as the experimental area a typical region in northern Zhejiang Province

China

and Landsat TM / ETM + images as the reference data

accuracy assessment experiments of five large-scale land cover datasets

i.e.

UMD

IGBP DISCover

MOD12Q1-2001

GLC2000 and GlobCover2009 are carried out.The result shows that the proposed multiscale accuracy assessment method can provide a comprehensive evaluation of datasets along with abundant multi-scale accuracy information.The accuracy assessment on a pixel scale can eliminate the error caused by spatial disagreement between reference data and datasets

making the result more objective

while the accuracy assessment on a sub-pixel scale can effectively reflect the relationship between the accuracy and feature attributes

which refers to the feature’s spatial structure and area.