Point-cloud segmentation of individual trees in complex natural forest scenes based on a trunk-growth method

Forest resource management and ecological assessment have been recently supported by emerging technologies. Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) is one that can be quickly and accurately used to obtain three-dimensional forest information, and create good representations of forest vertical structure. TLS data can be exploited for highly significant tasks, particularly the segmentation and information extraction for individual trees. However, the existing single-tree segmentation methods suffer from low segmentation accuracy and poor robustness, and hence do not lead to satisfactory results for natural forests in complex environments. In this paper, we propose a trunk-growth (TG) method for single-tree point-cloud segmentation, and apply this method to the natural forest scenes of Shangri-La City in Northwest Yunnan, China. First, the point normal vector and its Z-axis component are used as trunk-growth constraints. Then, the points surrounding the trunk are searched to account for regrowth. Finally, the nearest distributed branch and leaf points are used to complete the individual tree segmentation. The results show that the TG method can effectively segment individual trees with an average F-score of 0.96. The proposed method applies to many types of trees with various growth shapes, and can effectively identify shrubs and herbs in complex scenes of natural forests. The promising outcomes of the TG method demonstrate the key advantages of combining plant morphology theory and LiDAR technology for advancing and optimizing forestry systems.

Automated summary

Forest resource management and ecological assessment have benefited from emerging technologies such as terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), which can quickly and accurately obtain three-dimensional forest information. However, existing single-tree segmentation methods have limitations in accuracy and robustness, leading to unsatisfactory results in natural forests. The proposed trunk-growth (TG) method effectively segments individual trees in complex forest scenes and demonstrates the advantages of combining plant morphology theory and LiDAR technology for optimizing forestry systems.