Tree Crown Delineation from Digital Elevation Models and High Resolution Imagery

The aim of this study was to develop a methodology to delineate accurately tree crowns using digital elevation models independently of source (laser scanned data or stereoscopic pairs) and to identify the complementary information that can be obtained from high resolution imagery. This methodology uses the Watershed algorithm as the baseline. However the direct application of this algorithm generates over-segmentation for complex tree-crowns and non-wooded areas. To solve these problems a preprocessing stage consisting of a mixture modeling adaptive thresholding technique was developed to remove non-wooded areas. Results obtained on different plots of land are discussed putting forward the influential factors.