Author(s): Britto, Raphael Duarte ; Mendes, João ; Grilo, Vinicius ; Castro, João Paulo ; Santos, Murillo Ferreira dos ; Castro, Marina ; Pereira, Ana I. ; Lima, José
Date: 2026
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10198/35169
Origin: Biblioteca Digital do IPB
Subject(s): Deep Learning; LiDAR; QGIS; RGB Images; VGG16
Many strategies have been developed to monitor the volume of volume of Above Ground Biomass (AGB) in forest areas as a fundamental step for managing carbon concentration. This study explores the use of use of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data obtained through Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to estimate height values in a vegetation colony composed of oaks (Quercus pyrenaica Willd.) in northern Portugal. The extraction of pertinent information from LiDAR data was facilitated by using the LAStools extension within the Quantum Geographic Information System (QGIS) software framework. The generated raster and image information were used to calculate the height values of the vegetation. Following this extraction, the information was meticulously organized into datasets, which were then employed in Deep Learning (DL) algorithms. The VGG16 model was selected as the underlying framework for the present study. Height predictions were made using dimensions of 16× 16, 32× 32, and 64 × 64 pixels for the Red, Green and Blue (RGB) images. The data was estimated and compared using both the standard format of the VGG16 model and a superficially adapted version of its convolution layers. The algorithm’s efficacy was validated by comparing the forecast results with the data obtained from QGIS, which revealed minimal discrepancies. It was observed that using 64× 64 pixel scale images yielded enhanced accuracy, resulting in reduced values for the Mean Absolute Error (MAE). The study demonstrates the viability of applying DL techniques to accurately capture information about a forest area using RGB images.
