PILOT STUDY ON THE RETRIEVAL OF DBH AND DIAMETER DISTRIBUTION OF DECIDUOUS FOREST STANDS USING CAST SHADOWS IN UAV-BASED ORTHOMOSAICS
One fundamental metric to characterize trees and forest stands is the diameter at breast height (DBH). However, the vertical geometry of tree stems hampers a direct measurement by means of orthographic aerial imagery. Nevertheless, the DBH in deciduous forest stands could be measured from UAV-based...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Copernicus Publications
2018-09-01
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| Series: | ISPRS Annals of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences |
| Online Access: | https://www.isprs-ann-photogramm-remote-sens-spatial-inf-sci.net/IV-1/93/2018/isprs-annals-IV-1-93-2018.pdf |
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| author | T. Kattenborn T. Kattenborn J. Hernández J. Lopatin G. Kattenborn F. E. Fassnacht |
| author_facet | T. Kattenborn T. Kattenborn J. Hernández J. Lopatin G. Kattenborn F. E. Fassnacht |
| author_sort | T. Kattenborn |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | One fundamental metric to characterize trees and forest stands is the diameter at breast height (DBH). However, the vertical geometry of tree stems hampers a direct measurement by means of orthographic aerial imagery. Nevertheless, the DBH in deciduous forest stands could be measured from UAV-based imagery using the width of a stem´s cast shadow projected on the ground. Here, we compare in-situ measured DBH of 100 trees with the DBH visually interpreted from cast-shadows derived in UAV-based aerial imagery. Then, based on simulated datasets, we determine suitable DBH sampling sizes for a robust and efficient retrieval of stand diameter distributions. The UAV-based DBH estimation resulted in an r<sup>2</sup> of 0.74, RMSE of 7.61 cm, NRMSE of 12.8 % and approximately unbiased results. According to our simulations it can be assumed that a sample size of 25–50 individual DBH measurements per forest stand allows estimating reliable diameter distributions. The presented pilot study gives a first insight on the potential of such an approach for operational assessments of diameter distribution in deciduous forest stands and might be particularly interesting for stands in difficult terrain situations. The presented approach can be extended to estimate the basal area, timber stock or biomass. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T01:46:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-13f16ab9de054a409659089ba92e0d82 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2194-9042 2194-9050 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T01:46:57Z |
| publishDate | 2018-09-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | ISPRS Annals of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-13f16ab9de054a409659089ba92e0d822022-12-21T19:19:59ZengCopernicus PublicationsISPRS Annals of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences2194-90422194-90502018-09-01IV-1939910.5194/isprs-annals-IV-1-93-2018PILOT STUDY ON THE RETRIEVAL OF DBH AND DIAMETER DISTRIBUTION OF DECIDUOUS FOREST STANDS USING CAST SHADOWS IN UAV-BASED ORTHOMOSAICST. Kattenborn0T. Kattenborn1J. Hernández2J. Lopatin3G. Kattenborn4F. E. Fassnacht5Institute of Geography and Geoecology (IfGG), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Kaiserstr. 12, 76131 Karlsruhe, GermanyGeoCopter, Sebastian-Kneipp-Straße, 79104 Freiburg, GermanyLaboratorio de Geomática y Ecología del Paisaje, Universidad de Chile, Av. Santa Rosa 11315, Santiago de Chile, ChileInstitute of Geography and Geoecology (IfGG), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Kaiserstr. 12, 76131 Karlsruhe, GermanyGeoCopter, Sebastian-Kneipp-Straße, 79104 Freiburg, GermanyInstitute of Geography and Geoecology (IfGG), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Kaiserstr. 12, 76131 Karlsruhe, GermanyOne fundamental metric to characterize trees and forest stands is the diameter at breast height (DBH). However, the vertical geometry of tree stems hampers a direct measurement by means of orthographic aerial imagery. Nevertheless, the DBH in deciduous forest stands could be measured from UAV-based imagery using the width of a stem´s cast shadow projected on the ground. Here, we compare in-situ measured DBH of 100 trees with the DBH visually interpreted from cast-shadows derived in UAV-based aerial imagery. Then, based on simulated datasets, we determine suitable DBH sampling sizes for a robust and efficient retrieval of stand diameter distributions. The UAV-based DBH estimation resulted in an r<sup>2</sup> of 0.74, RMSE of 7.61 cm, NRMSE of 12.8 % and approximately unbiased results. According to our simulations it can be assumed that a sample size of 25–50 individual DBH measurements per forest stand allows estimating reliable diameter distributions. The presented pilot study gives a first insight on the potential of such an approach for operational assessments of diameter distribution in deciduous forest stands and might be particularly interesting for stands in difficult terrain situations. The presented approach can be extended to estimate the basal area, timber stock or biomass.https://www.isprs-ann-photogramm-remote-sens-spatial-inf-sci.net/IV-1/93/2018/isprs-annals-IV-1-93-2018.pdf |
| spellingShingle | T. Kattenborn T. Kattenborn J. Hernández J. Lopatin G. Kattenborn F. E. Fassnacht PILOT STUDY ON THE RETRIEVAL OF DBH AND DIAMETER DISTRIBUTION OF DECIDUOUS FOREST STANDS USING CAST SHADOWS IN UAV-BASED ORTHOMOSAICS ISPRS Annals of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences |
| title | PILOT STUDY ON THE RETRIEVAL OF DBH AND DIAMETER DISTRIBUTION OF DECIDUOUS FOREST STANDS USING CAST SHADOWS IN UAV-BASED ORTHOMOSAICS |
| title_full | PILOT STUDY ON THE RETRIEVAL OF DBH AND DIAMETER DISTRIBUTION OF DECIDUOUS FOREST STANDS USING CAST SHADOWS IN UAV-BASED ORTHOMOSAICS |
| title_fullStr | PILOT STUDY ON THE RETRIEVAL OF DBH AND DIAMETER DISTRIBUTION OF DECIDUOUS FOREST STANDS USING CAST SHADOWS IN UAV-BASED ORTHOMOSAICS |
| title_full_unstemmed | PILOT STUDY ON THE RETRIEVAL OF DBH AND DIAMETER DISTRIBUTION OF DECIDUOUS FOREST STANDS USING CAST SHADOWS IN UAV-BASED ORTHOMOSAICS |
| title_short | PILOT STUDY ON THE RETRIEVAL OF DBH AND DIAMETER DISTRIBUTION OF DECIDUOUS FOREST STANDS USING CAST SHADOWS IN UAV-BASED ORTHOMOSAICS |
| title_sort | pilot study on the retrieval of dbh and diameter distribution of deciduous forest stands using cast shadows in uav based orthomosaics |
| url | https://www.isprs-ann-photogramm-remote-sens-spatial-inf-sci.net/IV-1/93/2018/isprs-annals-IV-1-93-2018.pdf |
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