Development of mobile application for tree height measurement using geometric principle: Establishing global database of tree height and data
Accurate measurement of tree height is essential for ecological research, forest management, and carbon sequestration assessments. Traditional tools such as clinometers often face limitations due to terrain complexity, tree species variability, and operator dependency, while advanced technologies li...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Smart Agricultural Technology |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772375525000796 |
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| author | Mubarak Mahmud Jianhong Lin Mojtaba Houballah Ibrahim Garba Buba Laure Barthes |
| author_facet | Mubarak Mahmud Jianhong Lin Mojtaba Houballah Ibrahim Garba Buba Laure Barthes |
| author_sort | Mubarak Mahmud |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Accurate measurement of tree height is essential for ecological research, forest management, and carbon sequestration assessments. Traditional tools such as clinometers often face limitations due to terrain complexity, tree species variability, and operator dependency, while advanced technologies like LiDAR and UAVs, though precise, remain costly and less accessible. In this study, we developed a photographic tree height measurement method and integrated it into an Android application, referred to as M-Tree. The app allows users to capture tree images and calculate height using pixel-based markers, with the results synced to a global database containing tree height and associated data. To validate accuracy, M-Tree's measurements were compared to those obtained using a Suunto clinometer across 85 samples of trees and non-tree objects. Validation through Pearson correlation and Bland-Altman analyses demonstrated strong agreement, with root mean squared errors (RMSE) of 0.187 m for the clinometer and 0.192 m for M-Tree, alongside near-perfect correlations of 0.996 and 0.998, respectively. These results confirmed the M-Tree's effectiveness for tree height estimation, with a potential of broadening the geographic scope and accessibility of tree measurement data. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-856a8c7a4bf94131b8a00fedab335756 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2772-3755 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Smart Agricultural Technology |
| spelling | doaj-art-856a8c7a4bf94131b8a00fedab3357562025-08-20T02:52:23ZengElsevierSmart Agricultural Technology2772-37552025-03-011010084610.1016/j.atech.2025.100846Development of mobile application for tree height measurement using geometric principle: Establishing global database of tree height and dataMubarak Mahmud0Jianhong Lin1Mojtaba Houballah2Ibrahim Garba Buba3Laure Barthes4Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Ecologie Société Evolution, 91190, Gif sur Yvette, France; Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology, Wudil, Nigeria; Corresponding author.Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Ecologie Société Evolution, 91190, Gif sur Yvette, FranceUniversité Paris-Saclay, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Ecologie Société Evolution, 91190, Gif sur Yvette, France; Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE), Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace (IPSL), CEA/ CNRS/ UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, FranceSorbonne Université, CNRS, IMPMC, 4 Place Jussieu, Paris 75252, France; Department of Physics, Federal University Gashua, Gashua 671106, NigeriaUniversité Paris-Saclay, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Ecologie Société Evolution, 91190, Gif sur Yvette, FranceAccurate measurement of tree height is essential for ecological research, forest management, and carbon sequestration assessments. Traditional tools such as clinometers often face limitations due to terrain complexity, tree species variability, and operator dependency, while advanced technologies like LiDAR and UAVs, though precise, remain costly and less accessible. In this study, we developed a photographic tree height measurement method and integrated it into an Android application, referred to as M-Tree. The app allows users to capture tree images and calculate height using pixel-based markers, with the results synced to a global database containing tree height and associated data. To validate accuracy, M-Tree's measurements were compared to those obtained using a Suunto clinometer across 85 samples of trees and non-tree objects. Validation through Pearson correlation and Bland-Altman analyses demonstrated strong agreement, with root mean squared errors (RMSE) of 0.187 m for the clinometer and 0.192 m for M-Tree, alongside near-perfect correlations of 0.996 and 0.998, respectively. These results confirmed the M-Tree's effectiveness for tree height estimation, with a potential of broadening the geographic scope and accessibility of tree measurement data.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772375525000796Tree heightDatabaseM-TreeSmartphoneApplicationTrees Outside Forests |
| spellingShingle | Mubarak Mahmud Jianhong Lin Mojtaba Houballah Ibrahim Garba Buba Laure Barthes Development of mobile application for tree height measurement using geometric principle: Establishing global database of tree height and data Smart Agricultural Technology Tree height Database M-Tree Smartphone Application Trees Outside Forests |
| title | Development of mobile application for tree height measurement using geometric principle: Establishing global database of tree height and data |
| title_full | Development of mobile application for tree height measurement using geometric principle: Establishing global database of tree height and data |
| title_fullStr | Development of mobile application for tree height measurement using geometric principle: Establishing global database of tree height and data |
| title_full_unstemmed | Development of mobile application for tree height measurement using geometric principle: Establishing global database of tree height and data |
| title_short | Development of mobile application for tree height measurement using geometric principle: Establishing global database of tree height and data |
| title_sort | development of mobile application for tree height measurement using geometric principle establishing global database of tree height and data |
| topic | Tree height Database M-Tree Smartphone Application Trees Outside Forests |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772375525000796 |
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