Innovative deep learning artificial intelligence applications for predicting relationships between individual tree height and diameter at breast height

Background:Deep Learning Algorithms(DLA)have become prominent as an application of Artificial Intelligence(Al)Techniques since 2010.This paper introduces the DLA to predict the relationships between individual tree height(ITH)and the diameter at breast height(DBH).Methods:A set of 2024 pairs of individual height and diameter at breast height measurements,originating from 150 sample plots located in stands of even aged and pure Anatolian Crimean Pine(Pinus nigra J.F.Arnold ssp.pallasiana(Lamb.)Holmboe)in Konya Forest Enterprise.The present study primarily investigated the capability and usability of DLA models for predicting the relationships between the ITH and the DBH sampled from some stands with different growth structures.The 80 different DLA models,which involve different the alternatives for the numbers of hidden layers and neuron,have been trained and compared to determine optimum and best predictive DLAs network structure.Results:It was determined that the DLA model with 9 layers and 100 neurons has been the best predictive network model compared as those by other different DLA,Artificial Neural Network,Nonlinear Regression and Nonlinear Mixed Effect models.The alternative of 100#neurons and 9#hidden layers in deep learning algorithms resulted in best predictive ITH values with root mean squared error(RMSE,0.5575),percent of the root mean squared error(RMSE%,4.9504%),Akaike information criterion(AIC,-998.9540),Bayesian information criterion(BIC,884.6591),fit index(Fl,0.9436),average absolute error(AAE,0.4077),maximum absolute error(max.AE,2.5106),Bias(0.0057)and percent Bias(Bias%,0.0502%).In addition,these predictive results with DLAs were further validated by the Equivalence tests that showed the DLA models successfully predicted the tree height in the independent dataset.Conclusion:This study has emphasized the capability of the DLA models,novel artificial intelligence technique,for predicting the relationships between individual tree height and the diameter at breast height that can be required information for the management of forests.

Artificial neural network models predicting the leaf area index:a case study in pure even-aged Crimean pine forests from Turkey

Background: Leaf Area Index(LAI) is an important parameter used in monitoring and modeling of forest ecosystems. The aim of this study was to evaluate performance of the artificial neural network(ANN) models to predict the LAI by comparing the regression analysis models as the classical method in these pure and even-aged Crimean pine forest stands.Methods: One hundred eight temporary sample plots were collected from Crimean pine forest stands to estimate stand parameters. Each sample plot was imaged with hemispherical photographs to detect the LAI. The partial correlation analysis was used to assess the relationships between the stand LAI values and stand parameters, and the multivariate linear regression analysis was used to predict the LAI from stand parameters. Different artificial neural network models comprising different number of neuron and transfer functions were trained and used to predict the LAI of forest stands.Results: The correlation coefficients between LAI and stand parameters(stand number of trees, basal area, the quadratic mean diameter, stand density and stand age) were significant at the level of 0.01. The stand age, number of trees, site index, and basal area were independent parameters in the most successful regression model predicted LAI values using stand parameters(R_(adj)~2=0.5431). As corresponding method to predict the interactions between the stand LAI values and stand parameters, the neural network architecture based on the RBF 4-19-1 with Gaussian activation function in hidden layer and the identity activation function in output layer performed better in predicting LAI(SSE(12.1040), MSE(0.1223), RMSE(0.3497), AIC(0.1040), BIC(-77.7310) and R^2(0.6392)) compared to the other studied techniques.Conclusion: The ANN outperformed the multivariate regression techniques in predicting LAI from stand parameters. The ANN models, developed in this study, may aid in making forest management planning in study forest stands.

Modelling height-diameter relationships in complex tropical rain forest ecosystems using deep learning algorithm

Modelling tree height-diameter relationships in complex tropical rain forest ecosystems remains a challenge because of characteristics of multi-species, multi-layers, and indeterminate age composition. Effective modelling of such complex systems required innovative techniques to improve prediction of tree heights for use for aboveground biomass estimations. Therefore, in this study, deep learning algorithm (DLA) models based on artificial intelligence were trained for predicting tree heights in a tropical rain forest of Nigeria. The data consisted of 1736 individual trees representing 116 species, and measured from 52 0.25 ha sample plots. A K-means clustering was used to classify the species into three groups based on height-diameter ratios. The DLA models were trained for each species-group in which diameter at beast height, quadratic mean diameter and number of trees per ha were used as input variables. Predictions by the DLA models were compared with those developed by nonlinear least squares (NLS) and nonlinear mixed-effects (NLME) using different evaluation statistics and equivalence test. In addition, the predicted heights by the models were used to estimate aboveground biomass. The results showed that the DLA models with 100 neurons in 6 hidden layers, 100 neurons in 9 hidden layers and 100 neurons in 7 hidden layers for groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively, outperformed the NLS and NLME models. The root mean square error for the DLA models ranged from 1.939 to 3.887 m. The results also showed that using height predicted by the DLA models for aboveground biomass estimation brought about more than 30% reduction in error relative to NLS and NLME. Consequently, minimal errors were created in aboveground biomass estimation compared to those of the classical methods.