Precision Geolocation of Medicinal Plants: Assessing Machine Learning Algorithms for Accuracy and Efficiency

Abstract

This study investigates the precision geolocation of medicinal plants, a critical endeavor bridging ecology, conservation, and pharmaceutical research. By employing machine learning algorithms—gradient boosting machine (GBM), random forest (RF), and support vector machine (SVM)—within the cross-industry standard process for data mining (CRISP-DM) framework, both the accuracy and efficiency of medicinal plant geolocation are enhanced. The assessment employs precision, recall, accuracy, and F1 score performance metrics. Results reveal that SVM and GBM algorithms exhibit superior performance, achieving an accuracy of 97.29%, with SVM showing remarkable computational efficiency. Meanwhile, despite inferior performance, RF remains competitive especially when model interpretability is required. These outcomes highlight the efficacy of SVM and GBM in medicinal plant geolocation and accentuate their potential to advance environmental research, conservation strategies, and pharmaceutical explorations. The study underscores the interdisciplinary significance of accurately geolocating medicinal plants, supporting their conservation for future pharmaceutical innovation and ecological sustainability.