scholarly journals Continental-scale Hyperspectral tree species classification in the National Ecological Observatory Network

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio Marconi ◽  
Ben G Weinstein ◽  
Sheng Zou ◽  
Stephanie Ann Bohlman ◽  
Alina Zare ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
General Model ◽  
Classification Accuracy ◽  
Tree Level ◽  
Species Classification ◽  
Site Specific ◽  
Continental Scale ◽  
Tree Species Classification ◽  
The Us

Advances in remote sensing imagery and computer vision applications unlock the potential for developing algorithms to classify individual trees from remote sensing at unprecedented scales. However, most approaches to date focus on site-specific applications and a small number of taxonomic groups. This limitation makes it hard to evaluate whether these approaches generalize well across broader geographic areas and ecosystems. Leveraging field surveys and hyperspectral remote sensing data from the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), we developed a continental extent model for tree species classification that can be applied to the entire network including a wide range of US terrestrial ecosystems. We compared the performance of the generalized approach to models trained at each individual site, evaluating advantages and challenges posed by training species classifiers at the US scale. We evaluated the effect of geography, environmental, and ecological conditions on the accuracy and precision of species predictions. On average, the general model resulted in good overall classification accuracy (micro-F1 score), with better accuracy than site-specific classifiers (average individual tree level accuracy of 0.77 for the general model and 0.72 for site-specific models). Aggregating species to the genus-level increased accuracy to 0.83. Regions with more species exhibited lower classification accuracy. Trees were more likely to be confused with congeneric and co-occurring species and confusion was highest for trees with structural damage and in complex closed-canopy forests. The model produced accurate estimates of uncertainty, correctly identifying trees where confusion was likely. Using only data from NEON this single integrated classifier can make predictions for 20% of all tree species found in forest ecosystems across the US, suggesting the potential for broad scale general models for species classification from hyperspectral imaging.

scholarly journals RESNET-BASED TREE SPECIES CLASSIFICATION USING UAV IMAGES

2019 ◽  
Vol XLII-2/W13 ◽  
pp. 475-481 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Natesan ◽  
C. Armenakis ◽  
U. Vepakomma
Keyword(s):  
Neural Networks ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Classification Accuracy ◽  
Forest Tree ◽  
Tree Level ◽  
Species Classification ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Tree Species Classification ◽  
Rgb Images

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> Tree species classification at individual tree level is a challenging problem in forest management. Deep learning, a cutting-edge technology evolved from Artificial Intelligence, was seen to outperform other techniques when it comes to complex problems such as image classification. In this work, we present a novel method to classify forest tree species through high resolution RGB images acquired with a simple consumer grade camera mounted on a UAV platform using Residual Neural Networks. We used UAV RGB images acquired over three years that varied in numerous acquisition parameters such as season, time, illumination and angle to train the neural network. To begin with, we have experimented with limited data towards the identification of two pine species namely red pine and white pine from the rest of the species. We performed two experiments, first with the images from all three acquisition years and the second with images from only one acquisition year. In the first experiment, we obtained 80% classification accuracy when the trained network was tested on a distinct set of images and in the second experiment, we obtained 51% classification accuracy. As a part of this work, a novel dataset of high-resolution labelled tree species is generated that can be used to conduct further studies involving deep neural networks in forestry.</p>

scholarly journals An Evaluation of Pixel- and Object-Based Tree Species Classification in Mixed Deciduous Forests Using Pansharpened Very High Spatial Resolution Satellite Imagery

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 1868
Author(s):  
Martina Deur ◽  
Mateo Gašparović ◽  
Ivan Balenović
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Resolution ◽  
Satellite Imagery ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Classification Accuracy ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Species Classification ◽  
Tree Species Classification ◽  
Object Based ◽  
Very High

Quality tree species information gathering is the basis for making proper decisions in forest management. By applying new technologies and remote sensing methods, very high resolution (VHR) satellite imagery can give sufficient spatial detail to achieve accurate species-level classification. In this study, the influence of pansharpening of the WorldView-3 (WV-3) satellite imagery on classification results of three main tree species (Quercus robur L., Carpinus betulus L., and Alnus glutinosa (L.) Geartn.) has been evaluated. In order to increase tree species classification accuracy, three different pansharpening algorithms (Bayes, RCS, and LMVM) have been conducted. The LMVM algorithm proved the most effective pansharpening technique. The pixel- and object-based classification were applied to three pansharpened imageries using a random forest (RF) algorithm. The results showed a very high overall accuracy (OA) for LMVM pansharpened imagery: 92% and 96% for tree species classification based on pixel- and object-based approach, respectively. As expected, the object-based exceeded the pixel-based approach (OA increased by 4%). The influence of fusion on classification results was analyzed as well. Overall classification accuracy was improved by the spatial resolution of pansharpened images (OA increased by 7% for pixel-based approach). Also, regardless of pixel- or object-based classification approaches, the influence of the use of pansharpening is highly beneficial to classifying complex, natural, and mixed deciduous forest areas.

scholarly journals Individual tree crown delineation and tree species classification with hyperspectral and LiDAR data

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e6227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele Dalponte ◽  
Lorenzo Frizzera ◽  
Damiano Gianelle
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Data Science ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Tree Crown ◽  
Species Classification ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Sensing Data ◽  
Tree Species Classification ◽  
Selection Of

An international data science challenge, called National Ecological Observatory Network—National Institute of Standards and Technology data science evaluation, was set up in autumn 2017 with the goal to improve the use of remote sensing data in ecological applications. The competition was divided into three tasks: (1) individual tree crown (ITC) delineation, for identifying the location and size of individual trees; (2) alignment between field surveyed trees and ITCs delineated on remote sensing data; and (3) tree species classification. In this paper, the methods and results of team Fondazione Edmund Mach (FEM) are presented. The ITC delineation (Task 1 of the challenge) was done using a region growing method applied to a near-infrared band of the hyperspectral images. The optimization of the parameters of the delineation algorithm was done in a supervised way on the basis of the Jaccard score using the training set provided by the organizers. The alignment (Task 2) between the delineated ITCs and the field surveyed trees was done using the Euclidean distance among the position, the height, and the crown radius of the ITCs and the field surveyed trees. The classification (Task 3) was performed using a support vector machine classifier applied to a selection of the hyperspectral bands and the canopy height model. The selection of the bands was done using the sequential forward floating selection method and the Jeffries Matusita distance. The results of the three tasks were very promising: team FEM ranked first in the data science competition in Task 1 and 2, and second in Task 3. The Jaccard score of the delineated crowns was 0.3402, and the results showed that the proposed approach delineated both small and large crowns. The alignment was correctly done for all the test samples. The classification results were good (overall accuracy of 88.1%, kappa accuracy of 75.7%, and mean class accuracy of 61.5%), although the accuracy was biased toward the most represented species.

scholarly journals Tree Species Classification of Drone Hyperspectral and RGB Imagery with Deep Learning Convolutional Neural Networks

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 1070 ◽  
Author(s):  
Somayeh Nezami ◽  
Ehsan Khoramshahi ◽  
Olli Nevalainen ◽  
Ilkka Pölönen ◽  
Eija Honkavaara
Keyword(s):  
Neural Networks ◽  
Convolutional Neural Networks ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Classification Accuracy ◽  
Performance Metrics ◽  
Test Site ◽  
Biomass Estimation ◽  
Species Classification ◽  
Tree Species Classification ◽  
3D Cnn

Interest in drone solutions in forestry applications is growing. Using drones, datasets can be captured flexibly and at high spatial and temporal resolutions when needed. In forestry applications, fundamental tasks include the detection of individual trees, tree species classification, biomass estimation, etc. Deep neural networks (DNN) have shown superior results when comparing with conventional machine learning methods such as multi-layer perceptron (MLP) in cases of huge input data. The objective of this research is to investigate 3D convolutional neural networks (3D-CNN) to classify three major tree species in a boreal forest: pine, spruce, and birch. The proposed 3D-CNN models were employed to classify tree species in a test site in Finland. The classifiers were trained with a dataset of 3039 manually labelled trees. Then the accuracies were assessed by employing independent datasets of 803 records. To find the most efficient set of feature combination, we compare the performances of 3D-CNN models trained with hyperspectral (HS) channels, Red-Green-Blue (RGB) channels, and canopy height model (CHM), separately and combined. It is demonstrated that the proposed 3D-CNN model with RGB and HS layers produces the highest classification accuracy. The producer accuracy of the best 3D-CNN classifier on the test dataset were 99.6%, 94.8%, and 97.4% for pines, spruces, and birches, respectively. The best 3D-CNN classifier produced ~5% better classification accuracy than the MLP with all layers. Our results suggest that the proposed method provides excellent classification results with acceptable performance metrics for HS datasets. Our results show that pine class was detectable in most layers. Spruce was most detectable in RGB data, while birch was most detectable in the HS layers. Furthermore, the RGB datasets provide acceptable results for many low-accuracy applications.

scholarly journals The Effect of Topographic Correction on Forest Tree Species Classification Accuracy

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 787
Author(s):  
Chao Dong ◽  
Gengxing Zhao ◽  
Yan Meng ◽  
Baihong Li ◽  
Bo Peng
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Forest Tree ◽  
Species Classification ◽  
Illumination Condition ◽  
Topographic Correction ◽  
Forest Tree Species ◽  
Tree Species Classification ◽  
Inconsistency Rate ◽  
Rotation Model

Topographic correction can reduce the influences of topographic factors and improve the accuracy of forest tree species classification when using remote-sensing data to investigate forest resources. In this study, the Mount Taishan forest farm is the research area. Based on Landsat 8 OLI data and field survey subcompartment data, four topographic correction models (cosine model, C model, solar-canopy-sensor (SCS)+C model and empirical rotation model) were used on the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform to carry out algorithmic data correction. Then, the tree species in the study area were classified by the random forest method. Combined with the tree species classification process, the topographic correction effects were analyzed, and the effects, advantages and disadvantages of each correction model were evaluated. The results showed that the SCS+C model and empirical rotation model were the best models in terms of visual effect, reducing the band standard deviation and adjusting the reflectance distribution. When we used the SCS+C model to correct the remote-sensing image, the total accuracy increased by 4% when using the full-coverage training areas to classify tree species and by nearly 13% when using the shadowless training area. In the illumination condition interval of 0.4–0.6, the inconsistency rate decreased significantly; however, the inconsistency rate increased with increasing illumination condition values. Topographic correction can enhance reflectance information in shaded areas and can significantly improve the image quality. Topographic correction can be used as a pretreatment method for forest species classification when the study area’s dominant tree species are in a low light intensity area.

scholarly journals Mapping Tree Species Composition Using OHS-1 Hyperspectral Data and Deep Learning Algorithms in Changbai Mountains, Northeast China

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 818
Author(s):  
Yanbiao Xi ◽  
Chunying Ren ◽  
Zongming Wang ◽  
Shiqing Wei ◽  
Jialing Bai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Deep Learning ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Classification Accuracy ◽  
Learning Algorithms ◽  
Spectral Characteristics ◽  
Great Influence ◽  
Hyperspectral Images ◽  
Changbai Mountains ◽  
Species Classification ◽  
Tree Species Classification

The accurate characterization of tree species distribution in forest areas can help significantly reduce uncertainties in the estimation of ecosystem parameters and forest resources. Deep learning algorithms have become a hot topic in recent years, but they have so far not been applied to tree species classification. In this study, one-dimensional convolutional neural network (Conv1D), a popular deep learning algorithm, was proposed to automatically identify tree species using OHS-1 hyperspectral images. Additionally, the random forest (RF) classifier was applied to compare to the algorithm of deep learning. Based on our experiments, we drew three main conclusions: First, the OHS-1 hyperspectral images used in this study have high spatial resolution (10 m), which reduces the influence of mixed pixel effect and greatly improves the classification accuracy. Second, limited by the amount of sample data, Conv1D-based classifier does not need too many layers to achieve high classification accuracy. In addition, the size of the convolution kernel has a great influence on the classification accuracy. Finally, the accuracy of Conv1D (85.04%) is higher than that of RF model (80.61%). Especially for broadleaf species with similar spectral characteristics, such as Manchurian walnut and aspen, the accuracy of Conv1D-based classifier is significantly higher than RF classifier (87.15% and 71.77%, respectively). Thus, the Conv1D-based deep learning framework combined with hyperspectral imagery can efficiently improve the accuracy of tree species classification and has great application prospects in the future.

scholarly journals A Review: Individual Tree Species Classification Using Integrated Airborne LiDAR and Optical Imagery with a Focus on the Urban Environment

Forests ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kepu Wang ◽  
Tiejun Wang ◽  
Xuehua Liu
Keyword(s):  
Tree Species ◽  
Classification Accuracy ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Airborne Lidar ◽  
Lidar Data ◽  
Species Classification ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Urban Tree ◽  
Tree Species Classification ◽  
Optical Imagery

With the significant progress of urbanization, cities and towns are suffering from air pollution, heat island effects, and other environmental problems. Urban vegetation, especially trees, plays a significant role in solving these ecological problems. To maximize services provided by vegetation, urban tree species should be properly selected and optimally arranged. Therefore, accurate classification of tree species in urban environments has become a major issue. In this paper, we reviewed the potential of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data to improve the accuracy of urban tree species classification. In detail, we reviewed the studies using LiDAR data in urban tree species mapping, especially studies where LiDAR data was fused with optical imagery, through classification accuracy comparison, general workflow extraction, and discussion and summarizing of the specific contribution of LiDAR. It is concluded that combining LiDAR data in urban tree species identification could achieve better classification accuracy than using either dataset individually, and that such improvements are mainly due to finer segmentation, shadowing effect reduction, and refinement of classification rules based on LiDAR. Furthermore, some suggestions are given to improve the classification accuracy on a finer and larger species level, while also aiming to maintain classification costs.

scholarly journals Urban Tree Species Classification Using a WorldView-2/3 and LiDAR Data Fusion Approach and Deep Learning

Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 1284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Hartling ◽  
Vasit Sagan ◽  
Paheding Sidike ◽  
Maitiniyazi Maimaitijiang ◽  
Joshua Carron
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Deep Learning ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Training Sample ◽  
Lidar Data ◽  
Species Classification ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Urban Tree ◽  
Tree Species Classification ◽  
Fusion Approach

Urban areas feature complex and heterogeneous land covers which create challenging issues for tree species classification. The increased availability of high spatial resolution multispectral satellite imagery and LiDAR datasets combined with the recent evolution of deep learning within remote sensing for object detection and scene classification, provide promising opportunities to map individual tree species with greater accuracy and resolution. However, there are knowledge gaps that are related to the contribution of Worldview-3 SWIR bands, very high resolution PAN band and LiDAR data in detailed tree species mapping. Additionally, contemporary deep learning methods are hampered by lack of training samples and difficulties of preparing training data. The objective of this study was to examine the potential of a novel deep learning method, Dense Convolutional Network (DenseNet), to identify dominant individual tree species in a complex urban environment within a fused image of WorldView-2 VNIR, Worldview-3 SWIR and LiDAR datasets. DenseNet results were compared against two popular machine classifiers in remote sensing image analysis, Random Forest (RF) and Support Vector Machine (SVM). Our results demonstrated that: (1) utilizing a data fusion approach beginning with VNIR and adding SWIR, LiDAR, and panchromatic (PAN) bands increased the overall accuracy of the DenseNet classifier from 75.9% to 76.8%, 81.1% and 82.6%, respectively. (2) DenseNet significantly outperformed RF and SVM for the classification of eight dominant tree species with an overall accuracy of 82.6%, compared to 51.8% and 52% for SVM and RF classifiers, respectively. (3) DenseNet maintained superior performance over RF and SVM classifiers under restricted training sample quantities which is a major limiting factor for deep learning techniques. Overall, the study reveals that DenseNet is more effective for urban tree species classification as it outperforms the popular RF and SVM techniques when working with highly complex image scenes regardless of training sample size.

scholarly journals Tree Species Classification Based on Sentinel-2 Imagery and Random Forest Classifier in the Eastern Regions of the Qilian Mountains

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1736
Author(s):  
Minfei Ma ◽  
Jianhong Liu ◽  
Mingxing Liu ◽  
Jingchao Zeng ◽  
Yuanhui Li
Keyword(s):  
Tree Species ◽  
Texture Features ◽  
Qilian Mountains ◽  
Airborne Lidar ◽  
Tree Level ◽  
Species Classification ◽  
Sabina Przewalskii ◽  
Tree Species Classification ◽  
The Qilian Mountains ◽  
Sentinel 2

Obtaining accurate forest coverage of tree species is an important basis for the rational use and protection of existing forest resources. However, most current studies have mainly focused on broad tree classification, such as coniferous vs. broadleaf tree species, and a refined tree classification with tree species information is urgently needed. Although airborne LiDAR data or unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) images can be used to acquire tree information even at the single tree level, this method will encounter great difficulties when applied to a large area. Therefore, this study takes the eastern regions of the Qilian Mountains as an example to explore the possibility of tree species classification with satellite-derived images. We used Sentinel-2 images to classify the study area’s major vegetation types, particularly four tree species, i.e., Sabina przewalskii (S.P.), Picea crassifolia (P.C.), Betula spp. (Betula), and Populus spp. (Populus). In addition to the spectral features, we also considered terrain and texture features in this classification. The results show that adding texture features can significantly increase the separation between tree species. The final classification result of all categories achieved an accuracy of 86.49% and a Kappa coefficient of 0.83. For trees, the classification accuracy was 90.31%, and their producer’s accuracy (PA) and user’s (UA) were all higher than 84.97%. We found that altitude, slope, and aspect all affected the spatial distribution of these four tree species in our study area. This study confirms the potential of Sentinel-2 images for the fine classification of tree species. Moreover, this can help monitor ecosystem biological diversity and provide references for inventory estimation.

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