Comparison of three individual tree crown detection methods

Three image processing methods for single tree crown detection in high spatial resolution aerial images are presented and compared using the same image material and reference data. The first method uses templates to find the tree crowns. The other two methods uses region growing. One of them is supported by fuzzy rules while the other uses an image produced by Brownian motion. All three methods detect around 80%, or more, of the visible sunlit trees in two pine (Pinus Sylvestris L.) and two spruce stands (Picea abies Karst.) in a boreal forest. For all methods, large tree crowns are easier to detect than small ones.