segment_graph: Segment a terrestrial point cloud using graph theory.

In bi0m3trics/spanner: Utilities to support landscape-, forest-, and tree-related data analysis

Segment a terrestrial point cloud using graph theory.

Description

segment_graph returns a .las object with a new column "treeID".

Usage

segment_graph(
  las,
  tree.locations,
  k = 50,
  distance.threshold = 0.38,
  use.metabolic.scale = FALSE,
  ptcloud_slice_min = 0.5,
  ptcloud_slice_max = 2,
  metabolic.scale.function = NULL,
  subsample.graph = 0.1,
  return.dense = FALSE
)

Arguments

las	LAS normalized las object.
tree.locations	sf object sf object containing the following tree information: TreeID, X, Y, Z, Radius, and Error, output from the get_raster_eigen_treelocs function.
k	integer Number of nearest neighbors to be used in processing (k >= 50 suggested)
distance.threshold	numeric Maximum distance (in the same units as the .las) under which two points are connected in the graph object (greater than point spacing). Two points with a greater distance than this threshold are not connected in the graph for processing.
use.metabolic.scale	bool Use of weights in the assignment of points to a given treeID. Useful when interlocking crowns are present and trees are of different sizes.
ptcloud_slice_min	numeric Lower bound of point cloud slice in normalized point cloud used for treeID matching.
ptcloud_slice_max	numeric Upper bound of point cloud slice in normalized point cloud used for treeID matching.
metabolic.scale.function	string Supply your own function for defining segmentation weights based on a function of estimated tree diameter (e.g. metabolic.scale.function = 'x/2'). use.metabolic.scale must be set to TRUE. If not supplied, defaults to metabolic scale function from Tao et al., 2015.
subsample.graph	numeric The subsampled point spacing to use during processing. Note: processing time increases quickly with smaller point spacing with negligible returns in accuracy.
return.dense	bool Decision to return the subsampled point cloud or assign treeIDs back to points in the input dense point cloud.
plot_radius	numeric Radius (in the same units as the .las) used to define a region of interest for processing

Details

Preforms Individual tree segmentation following ecological principles for “growing” trees based on these input locations in a graph-theory approach inspired by work of Tao and others (2015). Point coordinates are linked together based on proximity and turned into a connected graph object, using the estimated tree bole locations as origin points, connecting individual points back to those tree bole origins based on shortest paths within the graph network, and finally assigning those points a unique tree identification based on the bole coordinate for which they are connected. Input point cloud is subsampled to a lower resolution before processing to increase processing efficiency. However, graph objects can still get large quite rapidly. Take this into consideration when choosing the extent of the input las object.

Value

a sparse/dense normalized .las with the column treeID added.

References

Tao, S., Wu, F., Guo, Q., Wang, Y., Li, W., Xue, B., ... & Fang, J. (2015). Segmenting tree crowns from terrestrial and mobile LiDAR data by exploring ecological theories. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 110, 66-76.

Examples

## Not run: 
\dontrun{
# Set the number of threads to use in lidR
set_lidr_threads(8)

# Download and read an example laz
getExampleData("DensePatchA")
LASfile = system.file("extdata", "DensePatchA.laz", package="spanner")
las = readTLSLAS(LASfile, select = "xyzcr", "-filter_with_voxel 0.01")
# Don't forget to make sure the las object has a projection
projection(las) = sp::CRS("+init=epsg:26912")

# Pre-process the example lidar dataset by classifying the ground points
# using lidR::csf(), normalizing it, and removing outlier points
# using lidR::ivf()
las = classify_ground(las, csf(sloop_smooth = FALSE,
                                class_threshold = 0.5,
                                cloth_resolution = 0.5, rigidness = 1L,
                                iterations = 500L, time_step = 0.65))
las = normalize_height(las, tin())
las = classify_noise(las, ivf(0.25, 3))
las = filter_poi(las, Classification != LASNOISE)

# Plot the non-ground points, colored by height
plot(filter_poi(las, Classification != 2), color = "Z")

# Perform a deep inspection of the las object. If you see any
# red text, you may have issues!
las_check(las)

# Find individual tree locations and attribute data
myTreeLocs = get_raster_eigen_treelocs(las = las, res = 0.05,
                                       pt_spacing = 0.0254,
                                       dens_threshold = 0.2,
                                       neigh_sizes = c(0.333, 0.166, 0.5),
                                       eigen_threshold = 0.5,
                                       grid_slice_min = 0.6666,
                                       grid_slice_max = 2.0,
                                       minimum_polygon_area = 0.025,
                                       cylinder_fit_type = "ransac",
                                       max_dia = 0.5,
                                       SDvert = 0.25,
                                       n_pts = 20,
                                       n_best = 25)

# Plot the tree information over a CHM
plot(lidR::grid_canopy(las, res = 0.2, p2r()))
points(myTreeLocs$X, myTreeLocs$Y, col = "black", pch = 16,
       cex = myTreeLocs$Radius^2 * 10, asp = 1)

# Segment the point cloud
myTreeGraph = segment_graph(las = las, tree.locations = myTreeLocs, k = 50,
                             distance.threshold = 0.5,
                             use.metabolic.scale = FALSE,
                             ptcloud_slice_min = 0.6666,
                             ptcloud_slice_max = 2.0,
                             subsample.graph = 0.1,
                             return.dense = FALSE)

# Plot it in 3D colored by treeID
plot(myTreeGraph, color = "treeID", pal=spanner_pal())

}

## End(Not run)

bi0m3trics/spanner documentation built on June 9, 2025, 3:57 p.m.