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 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 CROWN-LEVEL TREE SPECIES CLASSIFICATION USING INTEGRATED AIRBORNE HYPERSPECTRAL AND LIDAR REMOTE SENSING DATA

2018 ◽  
Vol XLII-3 ◽  
pp. 2629-2634
Author(s):  
Z. Wang ◽  
J. Wu ◽  
Y. Wang ◽  
X. Kong ◽  
H. Bao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Lidar Data ◽  
Tree Crown ◽  
Species Classification ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Sensing Data ◽  
Tree Species Classification ◽  
Shape Characteristics

Mapping tree species is essential for sustainable planning as well as to improve our understanding of the role of different trees as different ecological service. However, crown-level tree species automatic classification is a challenging task due to the spectral similarity among diversified tree species, fine-scale spatial variation, shadow, and underlying objects within a crown. Advanced remote sensing data such as airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and hyperspectral imagery offer a great potential opportunity to derive crown spectral, structure and canopy physiological information at the individual crown scale, which can be useful for mapping tree species. In this paper, an innovative approach was developed for tree species classification at the crown level. The method utilized LiDAR data for individual tree crown delineation and morphological structure extraction, and Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager (CASI) hyperspectral imagery for pure crown-scale spectral extraction. Specifically, four steps were include: 1) A weighted mean filtering method was developed to improve the accuracy of the smoothed Canopy Height Model (CHM) derived from LiDAR data; 2) The marker-controlled watershed segmentation algorithm was, therefore, also employed to delineate the tree-level canopy from the CHM image in this study, and then individual tree height and tree crown were calculated according to the delineated crown; 3) Spectral features within 3 × 3 neighborhood regions centered on the treetops detected by the treetop detection algorithm were derived from the spectrally normalized CASI imagery; 4) The shape characteristics related to their crown diameters and heights were established, and different crown-level tree species were classified using the combination of spectral and shape characteristics. Analysis of results suggests that the developed classification strategy in this paper (OA = 85.12 %, Kc = 0.90) performed better than LiDAR-metrics method (OA = 79.86 %, Kc = 0.81) and spectral-metircs method (OA = 71.26, Kc = 0.69) in terms of classification accuracy, which indicated that the advanced method of data processing and sensitive feature selection are critical for improving the accuracy of crown-level tree species classification.

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 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 of LiDAR Data based on 3D Deep Learning

Measurement ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 109301
Author(s):  
Maohua Liu ◽  
Ziwei Han ◽  
Yiming Chen ◽  
Zhengjun Liu ◽  
Yanshun Han
Keyword(s):  
Deep Learning ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Lidar Data ◽  
Species Classification ◽  
Tree Species Classification

Issues of Tree Species Classification from LiDAR Data Using Deep Learning Model

2021 ◽  
pp. 319-324
Author(s):  
Elizaveta K. Sakharova ◽  
Dana D. Nurlyeva ◽  
Antonina A. Fedorova ◽  
Alexey R. Yakubov ◽  
Anton I. Kanev
Keyword(s):  
Deep Learning ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Learning Model ◽  
Lidar Data ◽  
Species Classification ◽  
Tree Species Classification ◽  
Deep Learning Model

scholarly journals Mapping the Urban Atmospheric Carbon Stock by LiDAR and WorldView-3 Data

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 692
Author(s):  
MD Abdul Mueed Choudhury ◽  
Ernesto Marcheggiani ◽  
Andrea Galli ◽  
Giuseppe Modica ◽  
Ben Somers
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Urban Area ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Carbon Stock ◽  
Dominant Species ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Lidar Data ◽  
Urban Tree ◽  
Sensing Data

Currently, the worsening impacts of urbanizations have been impelled to the importance of monitoring and management of existing urban trees, securing sustainable use of the available green spaces. Urban tree species identification and evaluation of their roles in atmospheric Carbon Stock (CS) are still among the prime concerns for city planners regarding initiating a convenient and easily adaptive urban green planning and management system. A detailed methodology on the urban tree carbon stock calibration and mapping was conducted in the urban area of Brussels, Belgium. A comparative analysis of the mapping outcomes was assessed to define the convenience and efficiency of two different remote sensing data sources, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and WorldView-3 (WV-3), in a unique urban area. The mapping results were validated against field estimated carbon stocks. At the initial stage, dominant tree species were identified and classified using the high-resolution WorldView3 image, leading to the final carbon stock mapping based on the dominant species. An object-based image analysis approach was employed to attain an overall accuracy (OA) of 71% during the classification of the dominant species. The field estimations of carbon stock for each plot were done utilizing an allometric model based on the field tree dendrometric data. Later based on the correlation among the field data and the variables (i.e., Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, NDVI and Crown Height Model, CHM) extracted from the available remote sensing data, the carbon stock mapping and validation had been done in a GIS environment. The calibrated NDVI and CHM had been used to compute possible carbon stock in either case of the WV-3 image and LiDAR data, respectively. A comparative discussion has been introduced to bring out the issues, especially for the developing countries, where WV-3 data could be a better solution over the hardly available LiDAR data. This study could assist city planners in understanding and deciding the applicability of remote sensing data sources based on their availability and the level of expediency, ensuring a sustainable urban green management system.

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