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Home / Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing, Number 10 / October 2010

Open Access Active Contour and Hill Climbing for Tree Crown Detection and Delineation

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This paper presents a new approach for individual tree crown detection and delineation that is applicable under various imaging conditions. The approach extracts crown area using a region-based active contour model and then detects tree tops within the crown area by considering both spectral and shape characteristics of the crown. The detected tree tops allow subsequent clustering of crown pixels using a new hill-climbing algorithm. We tested the approach on a Norway spruce stand using three types of high spatial resolution imagery: an Emerge natural color vertical aerial image, an off-nadir QuickBird panchromatic image, and a natural color digital orthoimage. In comparison to the published region growing algorithm, our approach improved tree crown detection by over 10 percent for all three types of imagery, and provided accurate tree crown diameter estimation, which has utility in tree volume estimation, species composition, and forest health analysis.

Document Type: Research Article

Publication date: 01 October 2010

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  • The official journal of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing - the Imaging and Geospatial Information Society (ASPRS). This highly respected publication covers all facets of photogrammetry and remote sensing methods and technologies.

    Founded in 1934, the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) is a scientific association serving over 7,000 professional members around the world. Our mission is to advance knowledge and improve understanding of mapping sciences to promote the responsible applications of photogrammetry, remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS), and supporting technologies.
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