Issue link: https://geospatial.trimble.com/en/resources/i/1397665
TRANSFORMING THE WAY THE WORLD WORKS Contact your local Trimble Authorized Distribution Partner for more information NORTH AMERICA Trimble Inc. 10368 Westmoor Drive Westminster CO 80021 USA EUROPE Trimble Germany GmbH Am Prime Parc 11 65479 Raunheim GERMANY +49-6142-2100-0 Phone +49-6142-2100-140 Fax ASIA-PACIFIC Trimble Navigation Singapore PTE Limited 3 HarbourFront Place #13-02 HarbourFront Tower Two Singapore 099254 SINGAPORE +65-6871-5878 Phone +65-6871-5879 Fax "eCognition is incredibly teachable. It absorbs various forms of data, it strictly follows rules and it adapts when the information or rules change. It's the ideal student." — Mathieu Varin, Remote Sensing Laboratory Manager, Centre D'enseignement et de Recherche en Foresterie de Sainte-Foy © 2021, Trimble Inc. All rights reserved. Trimble, the Globe & Triangle logo and eCognition are trademarks of Trimble Inc., registered in the United States and in other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. PN 022516-579 (04/21) Top: Looking into the crown of a Red Oak, one of the five Broad Leaf species classified in the project. Bottom: Navigating along one of the 60 lakes that ring and cut through Kenauk Forest. With the data sources prepared, Varin and his team were ready to test the eCognition classification workflow. Using advanced artificial intelligence and machine-learning algorithms, the software focused only on trees higher than 17m and used the WorldView mosaic and the CHM to first segment the whole AOI into individual tree crowns. From there it considered pre-defined object thresholds and textural indices to identify and delineate Broadleaf trees from Conifers, and then it targeted the individual species within those two groups. In about two hours, eCognition classified 11 tree types including Red Oak, Sugar Maple, Balsam Fir, Eastern Hemlock and White Spruce. "The delineation process was surprisingly quick and precise," said Varin. "The overall accuracy for Conifers was 94 percent. That is very good considering the complex heterogeneity of the AOI." The CERFO team shared the results with forest managers, many of whom can already see the potential value in having a tree-specific data layer in their GIS for developing targeted harvesting or planning. Supported by that positive feedback, Varin and colleagues are furthering their eCognition work to refine the approach and provide forest managers with new seeds of information for their management operations.