scholarly journals Canopy Top, Height and Photosynthetic Pigment Estimation Using Parrot Sequoia Multispectral Imagery and the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV): Norway Spruce Forest Case Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronika Kopačková-Strnadová ◽  
Lucie Koucká ◽  
Jan Jelenek ◽  
Zuzana Lhotakova ◽  
Filip Oulehle
Keyword(s):  
Norway Spruce ◽  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Linear Models ◽  
Photosynthetic Pigment ◽  
Ground Truth ◽  
Needle Age ◽  
Vegetation Indexes ◽  
Pigment Contents ◽  
Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Uav Images

Remote sensing is one of the modern methods that have significantly developed over the last two decades and nowadays provides a new means for forest monitoring. High spatial and temporal resolutions are demanded for accurate and timely monitoring of forests. In this study multi-spectral Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) images were used to estimate canopy parameters (definition of crown extent, top and height as well as photosynthetic pigment contents). The UAV images in Green, Red, Red-Edge and NIR bands were acquired by Parrot Sequoia camera over selected sites in two small catchments (Czech Republic) covered dominantly by Norway spruce monocultures. Individual tree extents, together with tree tops and heights, were derived from the Canopy Height Model (CHM). In addition, the following were tested i) to what extent can the linear relationship be established between selected vegetation indexes (NDVI and NDVIred edge) derived for individual trees and the corresponding ground truth (e.g., biochemically assessed needle photosynthetic pigment contents), and ii) whether needle age selection as a ground truth and crown light conditions affect the validity of linear models. The results of the conducted statistical analysis show that the two vegetation indexes (NDVI and NDVIred edge) tested here have a potential to assess photosynthetic pigments in Norway spruce forests at a semi-quantitative level, however the needle-age selection as a ground truth was revealed to be a very important factor. The only usable results were obtained for linear models when using the 2nd year needle pigment contents as a ground truth. On the other hand, the illumination conditions of the crown proved to have very little effect on the model’s validity. No study was found to directly compare these results conducted on coniferous forest stands. This shows that there is a further need for studies dealing with a quantitative estimation of the biochemical variables of nature coniferous forests when employing spectral data acquired by the UAV platform at a very high spatial resolution.

scholarly journals Canopy Top, Height and Photosynthetic Pigment Estimation Using Parrot Sequoia Multispectral Imagery and the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 705 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronika Kopačková-Strnadová ◽  
Lucie Koucká ◽  
Jan Jelének ◽  
Zuzana Lhotáková ◽  
Filip Oulehle
Keyword(s):  
Norway Spruce ◽  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Linear Models ◽  
Photosynthetic Pigment ◽  
Ground Truth ◽  
Needle Age ◽  
Vegetation Indexes ◽  
Pigment Contents ◽  
Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Uav Images

Remote sensing is one of the modern methods that have significantly developed over the last two decades and, nowadays, it provides a new means for forest monitoring. High spatial and temporal resolutions are demanded for the accurate and timely monitoring of forests. In this study, multi-spectral Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) images were used to estimate canopy parameters (definition of crown extent, top, and height, as well as photosynthetic pigment contents). The UAV images in Green, Red, Red-Edge, and Near infrared (NIR) bands were acquired by Parrot Sequoia camera over selected sites in two small catchments (Czech Republic) covered dominantly by Norway spruce monocultures. Individual tree extents, together with tree tops and heights, were derived from the Canopy Height Model (CHM). In addition, the following were tested: (i) to what extent can the linear relationship be established between selected vegetation indexes (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and NDVIred edge) derived for individual trees and the corresponding ground truth (e.g., biochemically assessed needle photosynthetic pigment contents) and (ii) whether needle age selection as a ground truth and crown light conditions affect the validity of linear models. The results of the conducted statistical analysis show that the two vegetation indexes (NDVI and NDVIred edge) tested here have the potential to assess photosynthetic pigments in Norway spruce forests at a semi-quantitative level; however, the needle-age selection as a ground truth was revealed to be a very important factor. The only usable results were obtained for linear models when using the second year needle pigment contents as a ground truth. On the other hand, the illumination conditions of the crown proved to have very little effect on the model’s validity. No study was found to directly compare these results conducted on coniferous forest stands. This shows that there is a further need for studies dealing with a quantitative estimation of the biochemical variables of nature coniferous forests when employing spectral data that were acquired by the UAV platform at a very high spatial resolution.

scholarly journals Identifying the Branch of Kiwifruit Based on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Images Using Deep Learning Method

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (13) ◽  
pp. 4442
Author(s):  
Zijie Niu ◽  
Juntao Deng ◽  
Xu Zhang ◽  
Jun Zhang ◽  
Shijia Pan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Deep Learning ◽  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Semantic Segmentation ◽  
Dynamic Monitoring ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Distribution Maps ◽  
Time Operation ◽  
Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Uav Images ◽  
Segmentation Image

It is important to obtain accurate information about kiwifruit vines to monitoring their physiological states and undertake precise orchard operations. However, because vines are small and cling to trellises, and have branches laying on the ground, numerous challenges exist in the acquisition of accurate data for kiwifruit vines. In this paper, a kiwifruit canopy distribution prediction model is proposed on the basis of low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) images and deep learning techniques. First, the location of the kiwifruit plants and vine distribution are extracted from high-precision images collected by UAV. The canopy gradient distribution maps with different noise reduction and distribution effects are generated by modifying the threshold and sampling size using the resampling normalization method. The results showed that the accuracies of the vine segmentation using PSPnet, support vector machine, and random forest classification were 71.2%, 85.8%, and 75.26%, respectively. However, the segmentation image obtained using depth semantic segmentation had a higher signal-to-noise ratio and was closer to the real situation. The average intersection over union of the deep semantic segmentation was more than or equal to 80% in distribution maps, whereas, in traditional machine learning, the average intersection was between 20% and 60%. This indicates the proposed model can quickly extract the vine distribution and plant position, and is thus able to perform dynamic monitoring of orchards to provide real-time operation guidance.

scholarly journals Reference Measurements in Developing UAV Systems for Detecting Pests, Weeds, and Diseases

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1238
Author(s):  
Jere Kaivosoja ◽  
Juho Hautsalo ◽  
Jaakko Heikkinen ◽  
Lea Hiltunen ◽  
Pentti Ruuttunen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reference Data ◽  
Measurement Techniques ◽  
Synthetic Data ◽  
Ground Truth ◽  
Precision Farming ◽  
Aerial Imaging ◽  
Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Uav Images ◽  
Reference Measurements

The development of UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) imaging technologies for precision farming applications is rapid, and new studies are published frequently. In cases where measurements are based on aerial imaging, there is the need to have ground truth or reference data in order to develop reliable applications. However, in several precision farming use cases such as pests, weeds, and diseases detection, the reference data can be subjective or relatively difficult to capture. Furthermore, the collection of reference data is usually laborious and time consuming. It also appears that it is difficult to develop generalisable solutions for these areas. This review studies previous research related to pests, weeds, and diseases detection and mapping using UAV imaging in the precision farming context, underpinning the applied reference measurement techniques. The majority of the reviewed studies utilised subjective visual observations of UAV images, and only a few applied in situ measurements. The conclusion of the review is that there is a lack of quantitative and repeatable reference data measurement solutions in the areas of mapping pests, weeds, and diseases. In addition, the results that the studies present should be reflected in the applied references. An option in the future approach could be the use of synthetic data as reference.

Growing status observation for oil palm trees using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) images

2021 ◽  
Vol 173 ◽  
pp. 95-121
Author(s):  
Juepeng Zheng ◽  
Haohuan Fu ◽  
Weijia Li ◽  
Wenzhao Wu ◽  
Le Yu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Oil Palm ◽  
Palm Trees ◽  
Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Uav Images

scholarly journals Rapid Mosaicking of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Images for Crop Growth Monitoring Using the SIFT Algorithm

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianqing Zhao ◽  
Xiaohu Zhang ◽  
Chenxi Gao ◽  
Xiaolei Qiu ◽  
Yongchao Tian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Similarity Index ◽  
Crop Growth ◽  
Contrast Threshold ◽  
Growth Monitoring ◽  
Scale Invariant ◽  
Sift Algorithm ◽  
Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Uav Images

To improve the efficiency and effectiveness of mosaicking unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) images, we propose in this paper a rapid mosaicking method based on scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT) for mosaicking UAV images used for crop growth monitoring. The proposed method dynamically sets the appropriate contrast threshold in the difference of Gaussian (DOG) scale-space according to the contrast characteristics of UAV images used for crop growth monitoring. Therefore, this method adjusts and optimizes the number of matched feature point pairs in UAV images and increases the mosaicking efficiency. Meanwhile, based on the relative location relationship of UAV images used for crop growth monitoring, the random sample consensus (RANSAC) algorithm is integrated to eliminate the influence of mismatched point pairs in UAV images on mosaicking and to keep the accuracy and quality of mosaicking. Mosaicking experiments were conducted by setting three types of UAV images in crop growth monitoring: visible, near-infrared, and thermal infrared. The results indicate that compared to the standard SIFT algorithm and frequently used commercial mosaicking software, the method proposed here significantly improves the applicability, efficiency, and accuracy of mosaicking UAV images in crop growth monitoring. In comparison with image mosaicking based on the standard SIFT algorithm, the time efficiency of the proposed method is higher by 30%, and its structural similarity index of mosaicking accuracy is about 0.9. Meanwhile, the approach successfully mosaics low-resolution UAV images used for crop growth monitoring and improves the applicability of the SIFT algorithm, providing a technical reference for UAV application used for crop growth and phenotypic monitoring.

scholarly journals Measurement of nitrogen content in rice by inversion of hyperspectral reflectance data from an unmanned aerial vehicle

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Du Wen ◽  
Xu Tongyu ◽  
Yu Fenghua ◽  
Chen Chunling
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Nitrogen Content ◽  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Gaussian Process Regression ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Ground Truth ◽  
Hyperspectral Remote Sensing ◽  
Inversion Algorithm ◽  
Aerial Vehicle

ABSTRACT: The Nitrogen content of rice leaves has a significant effect on growth quality and crop yield. We proposed and demonstrated a non-invasive method for the quantitative inversion of rice nitrogen content based on hyperspectral remote sensing data collected by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Rice canopy albedo images were acquired by a hyperspectral imager onboard an M600-UAV platform. The radiation calibration method was then used to process these data and the reflectance of canopy leaves was acquired. Experimental validation was conducted using the rice field of Shenyang Agricultural University, which was classified into 4 fertilizer levels: zero nitrogen, low nitrogen, normal nitrogen, and high nitrogen. Gaussian process regression (GPR) was then used to train the inversion algorithm to identify specific spectral bands with the highest contribution. This led to a reduction in noise and a higher inversion accuracy. Principal component analysis (PCA) was also used for dimensionality reduction, thereby reducing redundant information and significantly increasing efficiency. A comparison with ground truth measurements demonstrated that the proposed technique was successful in establishing a nitrogen inversion model, the accuracy of which was quantified using a linear fit (R2=0.8525) and the root mean square error (RMSE=0.9507). These results support the use of GPR and provide a theoretical basis for the inversion of rice nitrogen by UAV hyperspectral remote sensing.

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