Estimating canopy cover from Eucalypt dominant tropical savanna using the extraction of tree crowns from very high resolution imagery

Whiteside, Tim and Ahmad, Waqar (2008) Estimating canopy cover from Eucalypt dominant tropical savanna using the extraction of tree crowns from very high resolution imagery. In: The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences (GEOBIA, 2008 – Pixels, Objects, Intelligence: Geographic Object Based Image Analysis for the 21st Century). ISPRS. ISBN (ISSN) 1682-1777

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Abstract

Very high spatial resolution satellite imagery provides data that enables spatially detailed analysis of landscapes. The identification and extraction of information about tree crowns is one such use. Tree crown or canopy cover is one parameter of vegetation structural classification. The estimation of canopy cover has a wide range if uses related to management and policies. Tree crown extraction of Eucalypts is not without its challenges. The inherent characteristics of Eucalypt crowns include open spaces within the crowns, verti-cally angled leaves, and the irregular crown shapes provide a number of challenges to remote sensing. This paper proposes an object-based method for extracting tree crowns from Eucalypt dominant savanna in the wet/dry tropics of northern Australia. A two level multi-resolution segmentation was undertaken upon QuickBird data (multispectral, panchromatic and derivatives) covering the area under investigation. The first broader segmentation allowed the differentiation of Eucalypt dominant communities from other vegeta-tion types. The second finer segmentation produced segments smaller than the tree crowns. A rule-set containing a series of classifi-cation and object growing algorithms were then used to firstly identify objects within a crown and then to expand the objects to cover the entire crown. Results indicate the potential of this method for delineating tree crowns from Eucalypt savanna and the use of this information to estimate canopy cover. The approach used here offers a method of tree crown delineation where the availability of other forms of data such as hyperspectral and laser scanning imagery may not be available.

Item Type: Book Section
Additional Information: G.J .Hay, T. Blaschke and D. Marceau (Eds) The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences ISPRS Vol. No. XXXVIII-4/C1. ISSN No.: 1682-1777
Keywords: canopy cover object-based image segmentation tree crowns northern Australia tropical savanna
Field of Research (2008): 05 Environmental Sciences > 0501 Ecological Applications > 050104 Landscape Ecology
08 Information and Computing Sciences > 0801 Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing > 080106 Image Processing
Subjects: G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences
G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GB Physical geography
Date Deposited: 06 Aug 2009 02:20
Last Modified: 02 Nov 2011 23:54
URI: https://eprints.batchelor.edu.au/id/eprint/38

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