Aspen detection in boreal forests: Capturing a key component of biodiversity using airborne hyperspectral, lidar, and UAV data

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timo Kumpula ◽  
Arto Viinikka ◽  
Janne Mäyrä ◽  
Anton Kuzmin ◽  
Pekka Hurskainen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tree Species ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Forest Canopy ◽  
Tree Level ◽  
Gradient Boosting ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Species Classification ◽  
Learning Methods ◽  
European Aspen

<p>Importance of biodiversity is increasingly highlighted as an essential part of sustainable forest management. As direct monitoring of biodiversity is not possible, proxy variables have been used to indicate site’s species richness and quality. In boreal forests, European aspen (Populus tremula L.) is one of the most significant proxies for biodiversity. Aspen is a keystone species, hosting a range of endangered species, hence having a high importance in maintaining forest biodiversity. Still, reliable and fine-scale spatial data on aspen occurrence remains scarce and incomprehensive. Although remote sensing-based species classification has been used for decades for the needs of forestry, commercially less significant species (e.g., aspen) have typically been excluded from the studies. This creates a need for developing general methods for tree species classification covering also ecologically significant species.</p><p> </p><p>Our study area, located in Evo, Southern Finland, covers approximately 83km<sup>2</sup>, and contains both managed and protected southern boreal forests. The main tree species in the area are Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst), and birch (Betula pendula and pubescens L.), with relatively sparse and scattered occurrence of aspen. Along with a thorough field data, airborne hyperspectral and LiDAR data have been acquired from the study area. We also collected ultra high resolution unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) data with RGB and multispectral sensors.</p><p> </p><p>Our aim is to gather fundamental data on hyperspectral and multispectral species classification, that can be utilized to produce detailed aspen data at large scale. For this, we first analyze species detection at tree-level. We test and compare different machine learning methods (Support Vector Machines, Random Forest, Gradient Boosting Machine) and deep learning methods (3D convolutional neural networks), with specific emphasis on accurate and feasible aspen detection. The results will show, how accurately aspen can be detected from the forest canopy, and which bandwidths have the largest importance for aspen. This information can be utilized for aspen detection from satellite images at large scale.</p>

Detecting a keystone species European aspen in boreal forests with airborne hyperspectral, LiDAR and UAV data with machine learning methods

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timo Kumpula ◽  
Janne Mäyrä ◽  
Anton Kuzmin ◽  
Arto Viinikka ◽  
Sonja Kivinen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Deep Learning ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Tree Level ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Learning Methods ◽  
Machine Learning Methods ◽  
European Aspen

<p>Sustainable forest management increasingly highlights the maintenance of biological diversity and requires up-to-date information on the occurrence and distribution of key ecological features in forest environments. Different proxy variables indicating species richness and quality of the sites are essential for efficient detecting and monitoring forest biodiversity. European aspen (Populus tremula L.) is a minor deciduous tree species with a high importance in maintaining biodiversity in boreal forests. Large aspen trees host hundreds of species, many of them classified as threatened. However, accurate fine-scale spatial data on aspen occurrence remains scarce and incomprehensive.</p><p> </p><p>We studied detection of aspen using different remote sensing techniques in Evo, southern Finland. Our study area of 83 km<sup>2</sup> contains both managed and protected southern boreal forests characterized by Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst), and birch (Betula pendula and pubescens L.), whereas European aspen has a relatively sparse and scattered occurrence in the area. We collected high-resolution airborne hyperspectral and airborne laser scanning data covering the whole study area and ultra-high resolution unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) data with RGB and multispectral sensors from selected parts of the area. We tested the discrimination of aspen from other species at tree level using different machine learning methods (Support Vector Machines, Random Forest, Gradient Boosting Machine) and deep learning methods (3D convolutional neural networks).</p><p> </p><p>Airborne hyperspectral and lidar data gave excellent results with machine learning and deep learning classification methods The highest classification accuracies for aspen varied between 91-92% (F1-score). The most important wavelengths for discriminating aspen from other species included reflectance bands of red edge range (724–727 nm) and shortwave infrared (1520–1564 nm and 1684–1706 nm) (Viinikka et al. 2020; Mäyrä et al 2021). Aspen detection using RGB and multispectral data also gave good results (highest F1-score of aspen = 87%) (Kuzmin et al 2021). Different remote sensing data enabled production of a spatially explicit map of aspen occurrence in the study area. Information on aspen occurrence and abundance can significantly contribute to biodiversity management and conservation efforts in boreal forests. Our results can be further utilized in upscaling efforts aiming at aspen detection over larger geographical areas using satellite images.</p>

scholarly journals MODIS-FIRMS and ground-truthing based wildfire likelihood mapping of Sikkim Himalaya using machine learning algorithms.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Polash Banerjee
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Machine Learning Algorithms ◽  
Tree Cover ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Gradient Boosting ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Learning Methods ◽  
Sikkim Himalaya ◽  
Environmental Features ◽  
Machine Learning Methods

Abstract Wildfires in limited extent and intensity can be a boon for the forest ecosystem. However, recent episodes of wildfires of 2019 in Australia and Brazil are sad reminders of their heavy ecological and economical costs. Understanding the role of environmental factors in the likelihood of wildfires in a spatial context would be instrumental in mitigating it. In this study, 14 environmental features encompassing meteorological, topographical, ecological, in situ and anthropogenic factors have been considered for preparing the wildfire likelihood map of Sikkim Himalaya. A comparative study on the efficiency of machine learning methods like Generalized Linear Model (GLM), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Random Forest (RF) and Gradient Boosting Model (GBM) has been performed to identify the best performing algorithm in wildfire prediction. The study indicates that all the machine learning methods are good at predicting wildfires. However, RF has outperformed, followed by GBM in the prediction. Also, environmental features like average temperature, average wind speed, proximity to roadways and tree cover percentage are the most important determinants of wildfires in Sikkim Himalaya. This study can be considered as a decision support tool for preparedness, efficient resource allocation and sensitization of people towards mitigation of wildfires in Sikkim.

scholarly journals Mapping of the Canopy Openings in Mixed Beech–Fir Forest at Sentinel-2 Subpixel Level Using UAV and Machine Learning Approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (23) ◽  
pp. 3925
Author(s):  
Ivan Pilaš ◽  
Mateo Gašparović ◽  
Alan Novkinić ◽  
Damir Klobučar
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Forest Canopy ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Predictive Performance ◽  
Spatial Extent ◽  
Gradient Boosting ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Stochastic Gradient Boosting ◽  
Extreme Gradient Boosting ◽  
Sentinel 2

The presented study demonstrates a bi-sensor approach suitable for rapid and precise up-to-date mapping of forest canopy gaps for the larger spatial extent. The approach makes use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) red, green and blue (RGB) images on smaller areas for highly precise forest canopy mask creation. Sentinel-2 was used as a scaling platform for transferring information from the UAV to a wider spatial extent. Various approaches to an improvement in the predictive performance were examined: (I) the highest R2 of the single satellite index was 0.57, (II) the highest R2 using multiple features obtained from the single-date, S-2 image was 0.624, and (III) the highest R2 on the multitemporal set of S-2 images was 0.697. Satellite indices such as Atmospherically Resistant Vegetation Index (ARVI), Infrared Percentage Vegetation Index (IPVI), Normalized Difference Index (NDI45), Pigment-Specific Simple Ratio Index (PSSRa), Modified Chlorophyll Absorption Ratio Index (MCARI), Color Index (CI), Redness Index (RI), and Normalized Difference Turbidity Index (NDTI) were the dominant predictors in most of the Machine Learning (ML) algorithms. The more complex ML algorithms such as the Support Vector Machines (SVM), Random Forest (RF), Stochastic Gradient Boosting (GBM), Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), and Catboost that provided the best performance on the training set exhibited weaker generalization capabilities. Therefore, a simpler and more robust Elastic Net (ENET) algorithm was chosen for the final map creation.

scholarly journals A Weighted SVM-Based Approach to Tree Species Classification at Individual Tree Crown Level Using LiDAR Data

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (24) ◽  
pp. 2948 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hoang Minh Nguyen ◽  
Begüm Demir ◽  
Michele Dalponte
Keyword(s):  
Tree Species ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Classification Problem ◽  
Learning Phase ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Lidar Data ◽  
Species Classification ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Tree Species Classification ◽  
Training Samples

Tree species classification at individual tree crowns (ITCs) level, using remote-sensing data, requires the availability of a sufficient number of reliable reference samples (i.e., training samples) to be used in the learning phase of the classifier. The classification performance of the tree species is mainly affected by two main issues: (i) an imbalanced distribution of the tree species classes, and (ii) the presence of unreliable samples due to field collection errors, coordinate misalignments, and ITCs delineation errors. To address these problems, in this paper, we present a weighted Support Vector Machine (wSVM)-based approach for the detection of tree species at ITC level. The proposed approach initially extracts (i) different weights associated to different classes of tree species, to mitigate the effect of the imbalanced distribution of the classes; and (ii) different weights associated to different training samples according to their importance for the classification problem, to reduce the effect of unreliable samples. Then, in order to exploit different weights in the learning phase of the classifier a wSVM algorithm is used. The features to characterize the tree species at ITC level are extracted from both the elevation and intensity of airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data. Experimental results obtained on two study areas located in the Italian Alps show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Tree Species Classification in Boreal Forests With Hyperspectral Data

2013 ◽  
Vol 51 (5) ◽  
pp. 2632-2645 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele Dalponte ◽  
Hans Ole Orka ◽  
Terje Gobakken ◽  
Damiano Gianelle ◽  
Erik Naesset
Keyword(s):  
Tree Species ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Hyperspectral Data ◽  
Species Classification ◽  
Tree Species Classification

scholarly journals Detection of aspen in conifer-dominated boreal forests with seasonal multispectral drone image point clouds

Silva Fennica ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alwin Hardenbol ◽  
Anton Kuzmin ◽  
Lauri Korhonen ◽  
Pasi Korpelainen ◽  
Timo Kumpula ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tree Species ◽  
Classification Accuracy ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Point Clouds ◽  
Image Point ◽  
Detection Accuracy ◽  
Important Species ◽  
Linear Discriminant ◽  
European Aspen

Current remote sensing methods can provide detailed tree species classification in boreal forests. However, classification studies have so far focused on the dominant tree species, with few studies on less frequent but ecologically important species. We aimed to separate European aspen ( tremula L.), a biodiversity-supporting tree species, from the more common species in European boreal forests ( L., [L.] Karst., spp.). Using multispectral drone images collected on five dates throughout one thermal growing season (May–September), we tested the optimal season for the acquisition of mono-temporal data. These images were collected from a mature, unmanaged forest. After conversion into photogrammetric point clouds, we segmented crowns manually and automatically and classified the species by linear discriminant analysis. The highest overall classification accuracy (95%) for the four species as well as the highest classification accuracy for aspen specifically (user’s accuracy of 97% and a producer’s accuracy of 96%) were obtained at the beginning of the thermal growing season (13 May) by manual segmentation. On 13 May, aspen had no leaves yet, unlike birches. In contrast, the lowest classification accuracy was achieved on 27 September during the autumn senescence period. This is potentially caused by high intraspecific variation in aspen autumn coloration but may also be related to our date of acquisition. Our findings indicate that multispectral drone images collected in spring can be used to locate and classify less frequent tree species highly accurately. The temporal variation in leaf and canopy appearance can alter the detection accuracy considerably.PopulusPinus sylvestrisPicea abiesBetula

scholarly journals HyP-ABC: A Novel Automated Hyper-Parameter Tuning Algorithm Using Evolutionary Optimization

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leila Zahedi ◽  
Farid Ghareh Mohammadi ◽  
M. Hadi Amini
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Convergence Rates ◽  
Parameter Tuning ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Machine Learning Techniques ◽  
Gradient Boosting ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Extreme Gradient Boosting

<p>Machine learning techniques lend themselves as promising decision-making and analytic tools in a wide range of applications. Different ML algorithms have various hyper-parameters. In order to tailor an ML model towards a specific application working at its best, its hyper-parameters should be tuned. Tuning the hyper-parameters directly affects the performance. However, for large-scale search spaces, efficiently exploring the ample number of combinations of hyper-parameters is computationally expensive. Many of the automated hyper-parameter tuning techniques suffer from low convergence rates and high experimental time complexities. In this paper, we propose HyP-ABC, an automatic innovative hybrid hyper-parameter optimization algorithm using the modified artificial bee colony approach, to measure the classification accuracy of three ML algorithms: random forest, extreme gradient boosting, and support vector machine. In order to ensure the robustness of the proposed method, the algorithm takes a wide range of feasible hyper-parameter values and is tested using a real-world educational dataset. Experimental results show that HyP-ABC is competitive with state-of-the-art techniques. Also, it has fewer hyper-parameters to be tuned than other population-based algorithms, making it worthwhile for real-world HPO problems.</p>

scholarly journals Comparative Analysis of Machine Learning Algorithms for Multi-Syndrome Classification of Neurodegenerative Syndromes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonie Lampe ◽  
Sebastian Niehaus ◽  
Hans-Jürgen Huppertz ◽  
Alberto Merola ◽  
Janis Reinelt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Support Vector Machine ◽  
Performance Measures ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Machine Learning Algorithms ◽  
Classification Task ◽  
Gradient Boosting ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Learning Methods

Abstract Importance The entry of artificial intelligence into medicine is pending. Several methods have been used for predictions of structured neuroimaging data, yet nobody compared them in this context.Objective Multi-class prediction is key for building computational aid systems for differential diagnosis. We compared support vector machine, random forest, gradient boosting, and deep feed-forward neural networks for the classification of different neurodegenerative syndromes based on structural magnetic resonance imaging.Design, Setting, and Participants Atlas-based volumetry was performed on multi-centric T1weighted MRI data from 940 subjects, i.e. 124 healthy controls and 816 patients with ten different neurodegenerative diseases, leading to a multi-diagnostic multi-class classification task with eleven different classes.Interventions n.a.Main Outcomes and Measures Cohen’s Kappa, Accuracy, and F1-score to assess model performance.Results Over all, the neural network produced both the best performance measures as well as the most robust results. The smaller classes however were better classified by either the ensemble learning methods or the support vector machine, while performance measures for small classes were comparatively low, as expected. Diseases with regionally specific and pronounced atrophy patterns were generally better classified than diseases with wide-spread and rather weak atrophy.Conclusions and Relevance Our study furthermore underlines the necessity of larger data sets but also calls for a careful consideration of different machine learning methods that can handle the type of data and the classification task best.Trial Registration n.a.

scholarly journals Tree Species Classification in a Temperate Mixed Mountain Forest Landscape Using Random Forest and Multiple Datasets

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 4657
Author(s):  
Rafael Hologa ◽  
Konstantin Scheffczyk ◽  
Christoph Dreiser ◽  
Stefanie Gärtner
Keyword(s):  
Random Forest ◽  
Spatial Resolution ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Abies Alba ◽  
Tree Level ◽  
Mountain Forest ◽  
Silver Fir ◽  
Forest Landscape ◽  
Species Classification ◽  
Tree Species Composition

For monitoring protected forest landscapes over time it is essential to follow changes in tree species composition and forest dynamics. Data driven remote sensing methods provide valuable options if terrestrial approaches for forest inventories and monitoring activities cannot be applied efficiently due to restrictions or the size of the study area. We demonstrate how species can be detected at a single tree level utilizing a Random Forest (RF) model using the Black Forest National Park as an example of a Central European forest landscape with complex relief. The classes were European silver fir (Abies alba, AA), Norway spruce (Picea abies, PA), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris, PS), European larch (Larix decidua including Larix kampferii, LD), Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii, PM), deciduous broadleaved species (DB) and standing dead trees (snags, WD). Based on a multi-temporal (leaf-on and leaf-off phenophase) and multi-spectral mosaic (R-G-B-NIR) with 10 cm spatial resolution, digital elevation models (DTM, DSM, CHM) with 40 cm spatial resolution and a LiDAR dataset with 25 pulses per m2, 126 variables were derived and used to train the RF algorithm with 1130 individual trees. The main objective was to determine a subset of meaningful variables for the RF model classification on four heterogeneous test sites. Using feature selection techniques, mainly passive optical variables from the leaf-off phenophase were considered due to their ability to differentiate between conifers and the two broader classes. An examination of the two phenological phases (using the difference of the respective NDVIs) is important to clearly distinguish deciduous trees from other classes including snags (WD). We also found that the variables of the first derivation of NIR and the tree metrics play a crucial role in discriminating PA und PS. With this unique set of variables some classes can be differentiated more reliably, especially LD and DB but also AA, PA and WD, whereas difficulties exist in identifying PM and PS. Overall, the non-parametric object-based approach has proved to be highly suitable for accurately detecting (OA: 89.5%) of the analyzed classes. Finally, the successful classification of complex 265 km2 study area substantiates our findings.

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