Accuracy of tree height estimation with model extracted from artificial neural network and new linear and nonlinear models

Abstract

Variable height is commonly used as an input attribute to estimate other variables. Thus, to ensure less susceptibility to errors, it is necessary to obtain the variable height correctly. In addition to DBH, hypsometric relationships are influenced by several factors, such as site, age, genetic variation, and silvicultural practices. The inclusion of these factors in hypsometric models can lead to a gain in the quality of the estimates and in the biological realism. The objective of this study was to propose and evaluate the performance of a model extracted from artificial neural network training and of new models to estimate the total height of eucalyptus trees. The data used in this study originated from temporary forest inventories conducted in eucalyptus stands in Minas Gerais, Brazil. A multilayer perceptron artificial neural network was trained, and a nonlinear equation was extracted from the best-performing network to predict the total heights of trees. New linear and nonlinear hypsometric models were constructed and fit considering variables related to individual trees (DBH) and stands (plot basal area, age and site index). The new hypsometric models proposed in this study showed satisfactory performance and are effective for estimating the total heights of eucalyptus trees, particularly the model extracted from the artificial neural network and the nonlinear model