Forest Three-Dimensional Reconstruction Method Based on High-Resolution Remote Sensing Image Using Tree Crown Segmentation and Individual Tree Parameter Extraction Model

Efficient and accurate acquisition of tree distribution and three-dimensional geometric information in forest scenes, along with three-dimensional reconstructions of entire forest environments, hold significant application value in precision forestry and forestry digital twins. However, due to compl...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Guangsen Ma, Gang Yang, Hao Lu, Xue Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-06-01
Series:Remote Sensing
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/13/2179
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850115723421024256
author Guangsen Ma
Gang Yang
Hao Lu
Xue Zhang
author_facet Guangsen Ma
Gang Yang
Hao Lu
Xue Zhang
author_sort Guangsen Ma
collection DOAJ
description Efficient and accurate acquisition of tree distribution and three-dimensional geometric information in forest scenes, along with three-dimensional reconstructions of entire forest environments, hold significant application value in precision forestry and forestry digital twins. However, due to complex vegetation structures, fine geometric details, and severe occlusions in forest environments, existing methods—whether vision-based or LiDAR-based—still face challenges such as high data acquisition costs, feature extraction difficulties, and limited reconstruction accuracy. This study focuses on reconstructing tree distribution and extracting key individual tree parameters, and it proposes a forest 3D reconstruction framework based on high-resolution remote sensing images. Firstly, an optimized Mask R-CNN model was employed to segment individual tree crowns and extract distribution information. Then, a Tree Parameter and Reconstruction Network (TPRN) was constructed to directly estimate key structural parameters (height, DBH etc.) from crown images and generate tree 3D models. Subsequently, the 3D forest scene could be reconstructed by combining the distribution information and tree 3D models. In addition, to address the data scarcity, a hybrid training strategy integrating virtual and real data was proposed for crown segmentation and individual tree parameter estimation. Experimental results demonstrated that the proposed method could reconstruct an entire forest scene within seconds while accurately preserving tree distribution and individual tree attributes. In two real-world plots, the tree counting accuracy exceeded 90%, with an average tree localization error under 0.2 m. The TPRN achieved parameter extraction accuracies of 92.7% and 96% for tree height, and 95.4% and 94.1% for DBH. Furthermore, the generated individual tree models achieved average Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) and Structural Similarity Index (SSIM) scores of 11.24 and 0.53, respectively, validating the quality of the reconstruction. This approach enables fast and effective large-scale forest scene reconstruction using only a single remote sensing image as input, demonstrating significant potential for applications in both dynamic forest resource monitoring and forestry-oriented digital twin systems.
format Article
id doaj-art-2fc787e438584540bdda7d8086019770
institution OA Journals
issn 2072-4292
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Remote Sensing
spelling doaj-art-2fc787e438584540bdda7d80860197702025-08-20T02:36:30ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922025-06-011713217910.3390/rs17132179Forest Three-Dimensional Reconstruction Method Based on High-Resolution Remote Sensing Image Using Tree Crown Segmentation and Individual Tree Parameter Extraction ModelGuangsen Ma0Gang Yang1Hao Lu2Xue Zhang3School of Information Science and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, ChinaSchool of Information Science and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, ChinaSchool of Information Science and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, ChinaSchool of Economics, Minzu University of China, Beijing 100081, ChinaEfficient and accurate acquisition of tree distribution and three-dimensional geometric information in forest scenes, along with three-dimensional reconstructions of entire forest environments, hold significant application value in precision forestry and forestry digital twins. However, due to complex vegetation structures, fine geometric details, and severe occlusions in forest environments, existing methods—whether vision-based or LiDAR-based—still face challenges such as high data acquisition costs, feature extraction difficulties, and limited reconstruction accuracy. This study focuses on reconstructing tree distribution and extracting key individual tree parameters, and it proposes a forest 3D reconstruction framework based on high-resolution remote sensing images. Firstly, an optimized Mask R-CNN model was employed to segment individual tree crowns and extract distribution information. Then, a Tree Parameter and Reconstruction Network (TPRN) was constructed to directly estimate key structural parameters (height, DBH etc.) from crown images and generate tree 3D models. Subsequently, the 3D forest scene could be reconstructed by combining the distribution information and tree 3D models. In addition, to address the data scarcity, a hybrid training strategy integrating virtual and real data was proposed for crown segmentation and individual tree parameter estimation. Experimental results demonstrated that the proposed method could reconstruct an entire forest scene within seconds while accurately preserving tree distribution and individual tree attributes. In two real-world plots, the tree counting accuracy exceeded 90%, with an average tree localization error under 0.2 m. The TPRN achieved parameter extraction accuracies of 92.7% and 96% for tree height, and 95.4% and 94.1% for DBH. Furthermore, the generated individual tree models achieved average Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) and Structural Similarity Index (SSIM) scores of 11.24 and 0.53, respectively, validating the quality of the reconstruction. This approach enables fast and effective large-scale forest scene reconstruction using only a single remote sensing image as input, demonstrating significant potential for applications in both dynamic forest resource monitoring and forestry-oriented digital twin systems.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/13/2179remote sensing imageforest scene3D reconstructioncrown segmentationindividual tree parameter extraction
spellingShingle Guangsen Ma
Gang Yang
Hao Lu
Xue Zhang
Forest Three-Dimensional Reconstruction Method Based on High-Resolution Remote Sensing Image Using Tree Crown Segmentation and Individual Tree Parameter Extraction Model
Remote Sensing
remote sensing image
forest scene
3D reconstruction
crown segmentation
individual tree parameter extraction
title Forest Three-Dimensional Reconstruction Method Based on High-Resolution Remote Sensing Image Using Tree Crown Segmentation and Individual Tree Parameter Extraction Model
title_full Forest Three-Dimensional Reconstruction Method Based on High-Resolution Remote Sensing Image Using Tree Crown Segmentation and Individual Tree Parameter Extraction Model
title_fullStr Forest Three-Dimensional Reconstruction Method Based on High-Resolution Remote Sensing Image Using Tree Crown Segmentation and Individual Tree Parameter Extraction Model
title_full_unstemmed Forest Three-Dimensional Reconstruction Method Based on High-Resolution Remote Sensing Image Using Tree Crown Segmentation and Individual Tree Parameter Extraction Model
title_short Forest Three-Dimensional Reconstruction Method Based on High-Resolution Remote Sensing Image Using Tree Crown Segmentation and Individual Tree Parameter Extraction Model
title_sort forest three dimensional reconstruction method based on high resolution remote sensing image using tree crown segmentation and individual tree parameter extraction model
topic remote sensing image
forest scene
3D reconstruction
crown segmentation
individual tree parameter extraction
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/13/2179
work_keys_str_mv AT guangsenma forestthreedimensionalreconstructionmethodbasedonhighresolutionremotesensingimageusingtreecrownsegmentationandindividualtreeparameterextractionmodel
AT gangyang forestthreedimensionalreconstructionmethodbasedonhighresolutionremotesensingimageusingtreecrownsegmentationandindividualtreeparameterextractionmodel
AT haolu forestthreedimensionalreconstructionmethodbasedonhighresolutionremotesensingimageusingtreecrownsegmentationandindividualtreeparameterextractionmodel
AT xuezhang forestthreedimensionalreconstructionmethodbasedonhighresolutionremotesensingimageusingtreecrownsegmentationandindividualtreeparameterextractionmodel