Recursive diameter prediction for calculating merchantable volume of Eucalyptus clones without previous knowledge of total tree height using artificial neural networks

Abstract

In this work, diameters of Eucalyptus trees are predicted by means of Multilayer Perceptron and Radial Basis Function artificial neural networks. By taking only three diameter measures at the base of the tree, diameters are predicted recursively until they reach the value of minimum merchantable diameter, with no previous knowledge of total tree height. It was considered the diameter top of 4 cm outside bark as minimum merchantable diameter. The training was conducted with only 10% of the trees from the total planted site. The Smalian method utilizes the predicted diameters to calculate merchantable tree volumes. The performance of the proposed model was satisfactory when predicted diameters and volumes are compared to actual ones.

Fabrizzio Soares

Associate Professor and CS Chair

Fabrizzio Soares is a professor of Computer Science, Information Systems and Software Engineering at INF/UFG. His research interests include Computer Vision, Human Computer Interaction, Machine Learning and Programming topics. He is the leader of the Pixellab group, which develops solutions for accesibilty, Precision Agriculture, and Interactive Systems.