A technique for automated determination of forest

parameters based on data from UAV

Roman Aleshko
Center for Artificial Intelligence and
Big Data Analysis
Northern (Arctic) Federal University
Arkhangelsk, Russian Federation
0000-0002-1235-8937
Vladimir Berezovsky Ksenia Shoshina
Center for Artificial Intelligence and Center for Artificial Intelligence and
Big Data Analysis Big Data Analysis
Northern (Arctic) Federal University Northern (Arctic) Federal University
Arkhangelsk, Russian Federation Arkhangelsk, Russian Federation
0000-0003-1694-5896 0000-0002-6716-4419

Irina Vasendina Roman Vorontsov Tatyana Desyatova

Center for Artificial Intelligence and
Big Data Analysis
Northern (Arctic) Federal University
Arkhangelsk, Russian Federation
0000-0003-4504-0981
Center for Artificial Intelligence and
Big Data Analysis
Northern (Arctic) Federal University
Arkhangelsk, Russian Federation
r.voroncov@narfu.ru
Center for Artificial Intelligence and
Big Data Analysis
Northern (Arctic) Federal University
Arkhangelsk, Russian Federation
t.desyatova@narfu.ru

Abstract— The article provides a scientific investigation of were investigated using computer vision methods [13-15].
the processing of UAV data on forest lands in Russia's European Figure 1 and Figure 2 show aerial images, which presents a
North taiga. forest area with a resolution of 5 cm/pix and 10 cm/pix,
A technique for automatic identification of tree crowns, respectively. Maintaining the Integrity of the Specifications
computation of forest parameters is discussed using the trial plot
as an example. The methodology incorporated morphological
methods for processing digital images, geographic information
tools for expressing and processing spatial data, and the findings
of top forestry experts' statistical observations.
The methodology may be used to automatically analyse
orthorectified aerial images with a resolution of 5 to 10 cm/pix.
The studies discussed in this text were conducted on images in
Russia's northern European region. The findings of the study
are utilized to automate the update of information on forest
resources on a regular basis.

Keywords— aerial images, digital image processing, UAV,

forest area, information updating.

I. INTRODUCTION
Fig. 1 - An example of a UAV digital imagery (5 cm per pixel)
Many scientists have published papers that used remote
sensing data to analyze taiga forests across time [1-3]. The
majority of work in detecting forest stand features using
remote sensing data has focused on medium and high
resolution satellite photos [4-8]. Furthermore, data from
spacecraft cannot be used to precisely determine forest
characteristics.
There are increasing efforts to develop new approaches for
preparing and updating forest data [9-11]. In terms of the
cartographic and attributive material collected, data
processing from UAVs is one of the most essential and cost-
effective fields. Furthermore, manually evaluating aerial
photographs to address information updating issues is labor-
intensive task. As a result, new automated methods and
processing algorithms are required.
Fig. 2 - An example of a UAV digital imagery (10 cm per pixel)
II. METHODOLOGY
First, confirm that you have the correct template for your A. Highlighting of contours
he most essential interpretative factors in aerial image analysis Consider the process of highlighting the contours of
are the size, tone, and form of tree tops [1]. These properties crowns on the example of the image shown in Figure 2.
 An ASF filter (alternating sequential filtering) was applied
to the image with a window size of 2 pixels. This image
filtering method belongs to raster morphological processing
algorithms. The essence of this algorithm is to use the
morphological operations “opening” and “closing” in relation
to the processed image.
As is known, the operation of “opening” binary image A
by a structural element B is mathematically represented as a
combination of operations of “growing” and “eroding” a
raster:
A ◦ B = (A ⊖ B) ⊕ B
In the above formula, the operation ⊖ “eroding” has the
following mathematical meaning:
A ⊖ B = {z ∈ A | Bz ⊆ A},
operation "growing":
A ⊕ B =⋃b∈B Ab .
Similarly, the morphological operation “closing” has the
following mathematical formulation:
A • B = (A ⊕ B) ⊖ B
Based on the presented formulas, the ASF filtering
algorithm for the image S is implemented as follows:
𝐴𝑆𝐹(𝑆)𝑛𝐵 = (((((S • B) ◦ B) • 2B) ◦ 2B) . . . • nB) ◦ nB,
Using this type of filtering, we got rid of small “peaks” and
“troughs”, i.e. flattened the original image.
The next step was to determine the local maxima of the
raster. Figure 3 shows the result of processing the original
image with local maxima superimposed on it.
Fig. 3 – Result of ASF filtering and calculation of local maxima of the image
The image was then subjected to the watershed approach.
The raster is shown as a three-dimensional grid with points
defined by two grid cells, and the intensity level serves as the
height. The most important acceptance of the watershed
method is to highlight objects that are uniform in brightness in
an image.
Let M1 , M2 , ..., MK be the sets of points of the coordinate
plane that correspond to the local minima of the surface
(image) G (x,y).
Let С(Mi) be the set of points in the basin corresponding
to the local minimum of M i . We denote by min and max the
smallest and largest values of the image G (x,y). The notation
P [n] means the set of points (s, t) for which G(s,t) < n, i.e.
P[n] = {(s, t)|G(s, t) < n}
P[n] is the set of points where the surface G (x,y) lies
below the plane G(x,y) = n. At the moments when the relief is
filled with water, the level rises in the form of discrete
increments from n = min + 1 to n = max + 1.
Let Cn (Mi) be the set of points of the basin with a local
minimum Mi, which are filled with water at step n. In view of
the above, Cn (Mi) is considered as a binary image, given by
the relation:
Cn (Mi ) = C(Mi ) ∩ P[n]
Let С[n] be the water-filled parts of all pools at step n,
then:
K
C[n] = ⋃ Cn (Mi )
i=1
The execution of the watershed algorithm begins with the
initialization C[min+1] = P [min+1]. The sequence of actions
is performed recurrently, while it is assumed that at the n-th
step the set C [n-1] has already been built. To obtain the set
С[n] from С[n-1], the following actions are performed. Let
Q[n] be the set of connected components of the set P [n]. Then
for each connected component q in Q[n] there are three
possible values. The way C[n] is constructed from C[n-1]
depends on which of the conditions is true:
a) q ∩ C[n-1] gives the empty set; this means that a new
local minimum has been met; in this case, to construct the set
C[n], the component q is added to C[n-1].
b) q ∩ C[n-1] contains a single connected component of
the set C[n-1]. This condition q lies inside the basin of some
local minimum; in this case, to construct the set C[n], the
component q is also added to C[n-1].
c) q ∩ C[n-1] contains more than one connected
component of the set C[n-1]. This condition occurs when the
points of a ridge separating two or more basins meet. In this
case, the further rise of the water will lead to the merging of
the basins, therefore, inside the connected component q, a
partition must be built to prevent the basins from merging
together. The result of applying the watershed algorithm is
shown in Figure 4.
Fig. 4 – The result of the watershed algorithm
The application of the watershed segmentation algorithm
often leads to the effect of excessive segmentation caused by
noise and other local irregularities in the image. This means a
huge number of areas allocated during segmentation. Over-
segmentation can be so significant that it renders the result
almost useless.
The approach used to manage over-segmentation is based
on the idea of markers. The marker is a connected component
belonging to the image. In our case, as markers, we set the
previously selected local maxima of the tree vertices. As a
result, we obtain a set of contours shown in Figure 5.

Fig. 7 – Highlighted contours (5 cm per pixel)

B. Species identification
The following step of image analysis determined if the
species of trees was deciduous or coniferous.
Model trees were marked and their locations were mapped
in the field. The average intensity of pixels in a image was
measured for a variety of species, enabling contours to be
Рис. 5 – The result of the watershed algorithm with markers classified. (Figure 8).
The result of the proposed methodology will be a set of
contours of tree crowns in the forest, obtained automatically
using the methodology described in the article.
After obtaining an image with highlighted contours of
crowns, the procedure of vectorization of the obtained
contours was carried out for the purpose of integration and
subsequent processing in a geographic information system.
The technique was applied on UAV images with a
resolution of 5 and 10 cm/pix. Vector layers of crown
contours, superimposed on the original UAV images, are
shown in Figure 6 and Figure 7.

Fig. 8 – Classified contours

C. Wood stock calculation

When examining forest resources, one of the most
important elements to evaluate is the wood stock. This
parameter may be evaluated using only the crown's diameter.
Because the crown has a rounded form, the following
computation may be used to estimate its diameter:

4S
Dcr = ,
π
Several research shown a correlation between tree tops and
other taxing features in various categories of forests. The
following formula is supplied for the transition from the
diameter of the crown to the diameter of the tree trunk at a
Fig. 6 – Highlighted contours (10 cm per pixel)
height of 1.3 m (d1,3):

d1,3  7,86Dcr  0,09Dcr2  5, 22,

where d1,3 is the tree stem diameter at 1.3 m in cm;
Dcr –diameter of tree crown, m.
 The timber stock (m3/ha) is one of the most important V. CONCLUSION
aspects of forest stands. Using the Densin equation and As a result, the authors of the current study propose an
previously collected diameter data at a height of 1.3 m, the approach for upgrading forest data based on UAV imagery.
volume of tree trunks may be simply determined.: This method can automate image processing with spatial
resolutions ranging from 5 to 10 centimeters per pixel. The
V  0,001 d1,3
2
, photos of woodlands in Russia's northern European region
were used in the study presented in this article. The future is
where V is tree volume, m3.
expected to see the further development of algorithms for
The approach works well for tree trunks up to a height of splitting crown complexes into single crowns, as well as the
around 25 meters. In other cases, volumes must be increased usage of small multispectral cameras for reliable forest species
by 3% for every meter longer than 25 meters and decreased detection.
by 3% per each meter below 25 meters.
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