Automatic single-tree crown identification and delineation on aerial images using morphological filtering

H. Jaime Hernndez P.1 and Daniel Montaner F. - Universidad de Chile (1) E-mail: jhernand@uchile.cl

Under the precision forestry approach, a new crown tree identification algorithm to be applied on Pinus Radiata stands, growing in the central of Chile, was developed. The algorithm allows identification of the tree and delineate its crown through digital and morphologic mathematic processes. After the use of errors in each of the internal processes as an indicator to improve its correctness, a final global algorithm was obtained. It functions considering the location of local maxima and finding their edges as obtained by applying morphologic gradients and watershed algorithms. Both stages, identification and delimitation are improved in a separated step by using statistical depuration rules. The results show a 89 95% correct tree identification, which were consequently taken as the base data to adjust the functions to predict individual DBH of the trees, creating a final stand parameters table.

Geomatics and Landscape Ecology Lab Forestry Faculty Universidad de Chile

Scanning and storing digital images Spectral and geometric corrections Selection of training zones
Stand 2

Training zones
Stand 1

We used six training zones in two radiata pine stands: 32 and 18 years old (1 and 2, respectively) on aerial digital photographs scale 1:5.000 (standard for chilean foresty companies).

Shadow elimination
OTSU thresholding

Understory elimination

Crown identification
Morphological local maxima image

Classification

Morphological local maxima

Structuring elements (SE): 6 sizes for 3 shapes: Cross (C), Box (B) and Disc (D).

Crown delimitation
2nd Conditional Watershed

1st Conditional Watershed Morphological gradient

Error (%) 50

Morphological gradient image

Original corrected image

Ommission
2nd Conditional watershed image
40

Cross Disc Box

1st Conditional watershed image

Structuring element were assessed in size and shape according to their capacity to correct identify trees and delimitate their crowns using commission and ommision errors.

30

20

Commission
10

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Structuring element size

Bivariate crown shape probabilities

Decision rule
Final segmentation (Stand 1)

Final segmentation Forest Stand Parameters

Stand 1 Census Algorithm Nha 561 531 % 100 94,7

Sh ap

ize S

The results are improved in a postprocessing phase using statistical depuration rules based on join probability distribution of crown shape and size

The forest industry is one of the most active in using remote sensing technologies since woodlands are widely spread over great land extensions. Of the many sensors now available for mapping and modeling forest attributes, aerial photographs have been the most important ones, and even though there are high resolution sensors working commercially today, they still remain the most used. In underdeveloped countries this situation is explained due to: i) the lack of technical specific capabilities and ii) very little general knowledge of the new technology. At the same time, it has become clear that managers need to have access to more accurate data in order to minimize their production costs.

Designing a harvesting plan for the whole forest stand, typically ranging from 20 to 100 hectares in size, is highly inefficient due local variability of log products within the stand. Forest survey techniques are used to provide information for the decision makers but the traditional sampling design estimates the whole stand as the target population, lacking local information at sub-stand level. Geostatistical procedures can improve the local estimations but they are limited by the actual sampling units and the distance between them. Considering the above facts, the focus of this study was to develop a method to extract precision data at tree level using the same kind of aerial images currently used by the main forest companies in Chile.