Structured Pointcloud Segmentation for Individual Mangrove Tree Modeling

Tree structure parameters of mangrove forests are hard to measure in the field and therefore inventories of this type of forests are impossible to keep up to date. In this article, we tested a structured pointcloud segmentation method for extracting individual mangrove trees. Structure parameters of individual trees were estimated from the segmented pointcloud and its 3d geometry was generated using revolution surfaces. Estimated parameters were then assessed at both plot and tree levels using field data. It was observed that the number of segments in each test plot agreed well with the number of trees observed in the field. Nonetheless, the estimated parameters exhibited mixed accuracy with top height being the most accurate.