Taxonomic identification of Amazonian tree crowns from aerial photography

Question: To what extent can aerial photography be used for taxonomic identification of Amazonian tree crowns? Objective: To investigate whether a combination of dichotomous keys and a web-based interface is a suitable approach to identify tree crowns. Location: The fieldwork was conducted at...

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Autores principales: González Orozco, C.E., Mulligan, M., Trichon, V., Jarvis, Andy
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Wiley 2010
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/44147
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author González Orozco, C.E.
Mulligan, M.
Trichon, V.
Jarvis, Andy
author_browse González Orozco, C.E.
Jarvis, Andy
Mulligan, M.
Trichon, V.
author_facet González Orozco, C.E.
Mulligan, M.
Trichon, V.
Jarvis, Andy
author_sort González Orozco, C.E.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Question: To what extent can aerial photography be used for taxonomic identification of Amazonian tree crowns? Objective: To investigate whether a combination of dichotomous keys and a web-based interface is a suitable approach to identify tree crowns. Location: The fieldwork was conducted at Tiputini Biodiversity Station located in the Amazon, eastern Ecuador. Methods: High-resolution imagery was taken from an airplane flying at a low altitude (600 m) above the ground. Imagery of the observable upper layer of the tree crowns was used for the analysis. Dichotomous identification keys for different types of crowns were produced and tested. The identification keys were designed to be web-based interactive, using Google Earth as the main online platform. The taxa analysed were Iriartea, Astrocaryum, Inga, Parkia, Cecropia, Pourouma, Guarea, Otoba, Lauraceae and Pouteria. Results: This paper demonstrates that a combination of photo-imagery, dichotomous keys and a web-based interface can be useful for the taxonomic identification of Amazonian trees based on their crown characteristics. The keys tested with an overall identification accuracy of over 50% for five of the ten taxa with three of them showing accuracy greater than 70% (Iriartea, Astrocaryum and Cecropia). Conclusions: The application of dichotomous keys and a web-based interface provides a new methodological approach for taxonomic identification of various Amazonian tree crowns. Overall, the study showed that crowns with a medium-rough texture are less reliably identified than crowns with smoother or well-defined surfaces.
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spelling CGSpace441472025-11-12T05:53:28Z Taxonomic identification of Amazonian tree crowns from aerial photography González Orozco, C.E. Mulligan, M. Trichon, V. Jarvis, Andy forest trees taxonomy aerial photography photointerpretation arboles forestales taxonomía fotografía aérea fotointerpretación ecology Question: To what extent can aerial photography be used for taxonomic identification of Amazonian tree crowns? Objective: To investigate whether a combination of dichotomous keys and a web-based interface is a suitable approach to identify tree crowns. Location: The fieldwork was conducted at Tiputini Biodiversity Station located in the Amazon, eastern Ecuador. Methods: High-resolution imagery was taken from an airplane flying at a low altitude (600 m) above the ground. Imagery of the observable upper layer of the tree crowns was used for the analysis. Dichotomous identification keys for different types of crowns were produced and tested. The identification keys were designed to be web-based interactive, using Google Earth as the main online platform. The taxa analysed were Iriartea, Astrocaryum, Inga, Parkia, Cecropia, Pourouma, Guarea, Otoba, Lauraceae and Pouteria. Results: This paper demonstrates that a combination of photo-imagery, dichotomous keys and a web-based interface can be useful for the taxonomic identification of Amazonian trees based on their crown characteristics. The keys tested with an overall identification accuracy of over 50% for five of the ten taxa with three of them showing accuracy greater than 70% (Iriartea, Astrocaryum and Cecropia). Conclusions: The application of dichotomous keys and a web-based interface provides a new methodological approach for taxonomic identification of various Amazonian tree crowns. Overall, the study showed that crowns with a medium-rough texture are less reliably identified than crowns with smoother or well-defined surfaces. 2010-10 2014-10-02T08:33:20Z 2014-10-02T08:33:20Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/44147 en Limited Access application/pdf Wiley
spellingShingle forest trees
taxonomy
aerial photography
photointerpretation
arboles forestales
taxonomía
fotografía aérea
fotointerpretación
ecology
González Orozco, C.E.
Mulligan, M.
Trichon, V.
Jarvis, Andy
Taxonomic identification of Amazonian tree crowns from aerial photography
title Taxonomic identification of Amazonian tree crowns from aerial photography
title_full Taxonomic identification of Amazonian tree crowns from aerial photography
title_fullStr Taxonomic identification of Amazonian tree crowns from aerial photography
title_full_unstemmed Taxonomic identification of Amazonian tree crowns from aerial photography
title_short Taxonomic identification of Amazonian tree crowns from aerial photography
title_sort taxonomic identification of amazonian tree crowns from aerial photography
topic forest trees
taxonomy
aerial photography
photointerpretation
arboles forestales
taxonomía
fotografía aérea
fotointerpretación
ecology
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/44147
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