Application of UAV Photogrammetry with LiDAR Data to Facilitate the Estimation of Tree Locations and DBH Values for High-Value Timber Species in Northern Japanese Mixed-Wood Forests
High-value timber species play an important economic role in forest management. The individual tree information for such species is necessary for practical forest management and for conservation purposes. Digital aerial photogrammetry derived from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV-DAP) can provide fin...
Main Authors: | , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-09-01
|
Series: | Remote Sensing |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/17/2865 |
_version_ | 1797554619211055104 |
---|---|
author | Kyaw Thu Moe Toshiaki Owari Naoyuki Furuya Takuya Hiroshima Junko Morimoto |
author_facet | Kyaw Thu Moe Toshiaki Owari Naoyuki Furuya Takuya Hiroshima Junko Morimoto |
author_sort | Kyaw Thu Moe |
collection | DOAJ |
description | High-value timber species play an important economic role in forest management. The individual tree information for such species is necessary for practical forest management and for conservation purposes. Digital aerial photogrammetry derived from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV-DAP) can provide fine spatial and spectral information, as well as information on the three-dimensional (3D) structure of a forest canopy. Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data enable area-wide 3D tree mapping and provide accurate forest floor terrain information. In this study, we evaluated the potential use of UAV-DAP and LiDAR data for the estimation of individual tree location and diameter at breast height (DBH) values of large-size high-value timber species in northern Japanese mixed-wood forests. We performed multiresolution segmentation of UAV-DAP orthophotographs to derive individual tree crown. We used object-based image analysis and random forest algorithm to classify the forest canopy into five categories: three high-value timber species, other broadleaf species, and conifer species. The UAV-DAP technique produced overall accuracy values of 73% and 63% for classification of the forest canopy in two forest management sub-compartments. In addition, we estimated individual tree DBH Values of high-value timber species through field survey, LiDAR, and UAV-DAP data. The results indicated that UAV-DAP can predict individual tree DBH Values, with comparable accuracy to DBH prediction using field and LiDAR data. The results of this study are useful for forest managers when searching for high-value timber trees and estimating tree size in large mixed-wood forests and can be applied in single-tree management systems for high-value timber species. |
first_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:34:39Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-303e4c9cdd464b9e9dadbadffe54be8c |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2072-4292 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:34:39Z |
publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
publisher | MDPI AG |
record_format | Article |
series | Remote Sensing |
spelling | doaj.art-303e4c9cdd464b9e9dadbadffe54be8c2023-11-20T12:30:13ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922020-09-011217286510.3390/rs12172865Application of UAV Photogrammetry with LiDAR Data to Facilitate the Estimation of Tree Locations and DBH Values for High-Value Timber Species in Northern Japanese Mixed-Wood ForestsKyaw Thu Moe0Toshiaki Owari1Naoyuki Furuya2Takuya Hiroshima3Junko Morimoto4Department of Forest Science, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8657, JapanGraduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo Chiba Forest, Kamogawa, Chiba 299-5503, JapanHokkaido Research Center, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, 7 Hitsujigaoka, Toyohiraku, Sapporo 062-8516, JapanGraduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo Hokkaido Forest, Furano, Hokkaido 079-1563, JapanGraduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8589, JapanHigh-value timber species play an important economic role in forest management. The individual tree information for such species is necessary for practical forest management and for conservation purposes. Digital aerial photogrammetry derived from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV-DAP) can provide fine spatial and spectral information, as well as information on the three-dimensional (3D) structure of a forest canopy. Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data enable area-wide 3D tree mapping and provide accurate forest floor terrain information. In this study, we evaluated the potential use of UAV-DAP and LiDAR data for the estimation of individual tree location and diameter at breast height (DBH) values of large-size high-value timber species in northern Japanese mixed-wood forests. We performed multiresolution segmentation of UAV-DAP orthophotographs to derive individual tree crown. We used object-based image analysis and random forest algorithm to classify the forest canopy into five categories: three high-value timber species, other broadleaf species, and conifer species. The UAV-DAP technique produced overall accuracy values of 73% and 63% for classification of the forest canopy in two forest management sub-compartments. In addition, we estimated individual tree DBH Values of high-value timber species through field survey, LiDAR, and UAV-DAP data. The results indicated that UAV-DAP can predict individual tree DBH Values, with comparable accuracy to DBH prediction using field and LiDAR data. The results of this study are useful for forest managers when searching for high-value timber trees and estimating tree size in large mixed-wood forests and can be applied in single-tree management systems for high-value timber species.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/17/2865high-value timber speciessingle-tree management systemobject-based image analysisrandom forest classificationunmanned aerial vehicle |
spellingShingle | Kyaw Thu Moe Toshiaki Owari Naoyuki Furuya Takuya Hiroshima Junko Morimoto Application of UAV Photogrammetry with LiDAR Data to Facilitate the Estimation of Tree Locations and DBH Values for High-Value Timber Species in Northern Japanese Mixed-Wood Forests Remote Sensing high-value timber species single-tree management system object-based image analysis random forest classification unmanned aerial vehicle |
title | Application of UAV Photogrammetry with LiDAR Data to Facilitate the Estimation of Tree Locations and DBH Values for High-Value Timber Species in Northern Japanese Mixed-Wood Forests |
title_full | Application of UAV Photogrammetry with LiDAR Data to Facilitate the Estimation of Tree Locations and DBH Values for High-Value Timber Species in Northern Japanese Mixed-Wood Forests |
title_fullStr | Application of UAV Photogrammetry with LiDAR Data to Facilitate the Estimation of Tree Locations and DBH Values for High-Value Timber Species in Northern Japanese Mixed-Wood Forests |
title_full_unstemmed | Application of UAV Photogrammetry with LiDAR Data to Facilitate the Estimation of Tree Locations and DBH Values for High-Value Timber Species in Northern Japanese Mixed-Wood Forests |
title_short | Application of UAV Photogrammetry with LiDAR Data to Facilitate the Estimation of Tree Locations and DBH Values for High-Value Timber Species in Northern Japanese Mixed-Wood Forests |
title_sort | application of uav photogrammetry with lidar data to facilitate the estimation of tree locations and dbh values for high value timber species in northern japanese mixed wood forests |
topic | high-value timber species single-tree management system object-based image analysis random forest classification unmanned aerial vehicle |
url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/17/2865 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT kyawthumoe applicationofuavphotogrammetrywithlidardatatofacilitatetheestimationoftreelocationsanddbhvaluesforhighvaluetimberspeciesinnorthernjapanesemixedwoodforests AT toshiakiowari applicationofuavphotogrammetrywithlidardatatofacilitatetheestimationoftreelocationsanddbhvaluesforhighvaluetimberspeciesinnorthernjapanesemixedwoodforests AT naoyukifuruya applicationofuavphotogrammetrywithlidardatatofacilitatetheestimationoftreelocationsanddbhvaluesforhighvaluetimberspeciesinnorthernjapanesemixedwoodforests AT takuyahiroshima applicationofuavphotogrammetrywithlidardatatofacilitatetheestimationoftreelocationsanddbhvaluesforhighvaluetimberspeciesinnorthernjapanesemixedwoodforests AT junkomorimoto applicationofuavphotogrammetrywithlidardatatofacilitatetheestimationoftreelocationsanddbhvaluesforhighvaluetimberspeciesinnorthernjapanesemixedwoodforests |