COMPATIBILITY BETWEEN THE STEM VOLUME AND TAPER EQUATIONS VOLUME FOR BLACK WATTLE TREES

A system of equations widely used in Forest Engineering by the international community of researchers consists of a combination of a volumetric function and a taper function, with the purpose of making volume estimates compatible. When using the volume function and the taper function in a system, the result of the volume estimated by the two functions should be compatible, meaning that the volume estimated by the volumetric function should not differ from the volume obtained by integrating the taper function. Thus, the purpose of this paper was to develop and present the procedures of a system of equations to make volume estimates from both volume and taper equations compatible, and then compare it to the traditional approach, which is used in forestry companies. The procedures proposed were applied to a data set on the Acacia mearnsii De Wild. (black wattle) at sites where the plantation of this species is concentrated in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The data set included 343 trees ranging from 5 to 10.75 years of age. It was noted that the lack of volume compatibility, in absolute terms, grows exponentially with the size of the tree. The quality of the estimates using the system of compatible equations did not differ from those obtained from the traditional model, therefore, the former is preferable. Furthermore, it was noted that the residuals from the volume and taper equations are correlated, which suggests that the system of equations be fitted simultaneously

COMPATIBILITY BETWEEN THE SPURR FUNCTION VOLUME AND THE KOZAK’S TAPER FUNCTION AND QUINTIC POLYNOMIAL VOLUMES FOR BLACK WATTLE TREES

When modeling the taper and volume, it is desired that the volume estimates obtained by using these two methods are compatible, where the total stem volume estimates shall not differ when using a total volume equation and the volume calculated by integrating the taper equation. There are several of such systems proposed in the literature, in which modifications in the volume and taper models were made to obtain compatible systems. This paper introduces an idea to obtain compatibility in a simpler way, without the need to modify the volume and taper models. Thus, the overall objective of this study was to develop and present a procedure to obtain compatibility between the Spurr function volume and the Kozak’s taper function and quintic polynomial volumes for Acacia mearnsii De Wild trees and compare the results to the traditional method of the same system of equations. The procedures proposed were applied on data on the Acacia mearnsii De Wild (black wattle) species in the towns of Cristal, Piratini, and Encruzilhada in the south of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The data set included 343 trees ranging from 5 to 10.75 years of age. The quality of the fitting for the volume and taper equations fitted using procedures 1 and 2 is similar, and both are compatible. The system of equations presented in procedure 2 is simpler to be applied when compared to procedure 1

Modelagem da biomassa de árvores para assegurar aditividade dos seus componentes

Orientador : Prof. Dr. Sylvio Péllico NettoCoorientador : Prof. Ph.D. Carlos Roberto SanquettaCoorientador : Profª. Dª. Ana Paula Dalla CorteTese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciências Agrárias, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Florestal. Defesa: Curitiba, 12/09/2016Inclui referências : f. 92-114Área de concentração : Manejo florestalResumo: Neste trabalho é discutido o tema aditividade dos componentes da biomassa de árvores. Foram apresentados procedimentos para estabelecer sistemas de equações de biomassa aditivos, propriedade indispensável e que determina ser as estimativas de biomassa dos componentes equivalente à biomassa total. Para avaliar e discutir tal contexto várias indagações foram feitas, que estão apresentadas no texto, e que foram devidamente respondidas por meio de informações da literatura e pelas avaliações experimentais discutidas e avaliadas no conteúdo deste trabalho. Um experimento em florestas de Acacia mearnsii De Wild. (acácia negra) foi conduzido nos locais que concentram os plantios da espécie no estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Para tais condições foram ajustadas equações de biomassa total e para os componentes copa e fuste por meio de weighted-nonlinear seemingly unrelated regressions (WNSUR, estimador de sistemas de equações) e por meio de generalized nonlinear least squares (GNLS, estimador independente). Na análise do desempenho dos estimadores, especialmente no que se refere às estimativas de biomassa e das estatísticas de ajuste das equações, pode-se concluir a respeito da indiferença do emprego de equações ajustadas por meio dos estimadores independentes e de sistemas de equações. Por outro lado, essa conclusão diverge quando avaliada a consistência biológica e a eficiência dos estimadores. Estimar as equações de biomassa para os componentes e para a biomassa total independentemente não é realista, pois do ponto de vista biológico as estimativas de biomassa são inconsistentes, ou seja, não são aditivas. As estimativas de biomassa dos componentes e da biomassa total resultantes de equações ajustadas por meio de sistemas de equações viabilizaram intervalos de confiança menores em relação às equações ajustadas independentemente, sendo mais eficientes. O estimador WNSUR apresenta melhores propriedades biológicas e estatísticas para estimar equações alométricas de biomassa dos componentes e biomassa total quando comparado com a estimação independente, sendo o método que deve ser utilizado. Por fim, os exemplos apresentados na revisão da literatura são úteis para a compreensão dos princípios envolvidos e também para propósitos de difusão das técnicas. Palavras-chave: Consistência biológica. Estimador eficiente. Derivação de pesos. Intervalo de confiança.Abstract:This study discusses the additivity of the components of tree biomass. Procedures have been presented to establish additive biomass equation systems, essential property to determine the estimated biomass of components equivalent to total biomass. To evaluate and discuss this context, several inquiries were made, which are presented in the text, which were duly answered by the literature information and by the experimental evaluations discussed in the content of this work. An experiment in forests of Acacia mearnsii De Wild. (black wattle) was conducted on sites that concentrate the plantations of the species in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. For such conditions, equations for total biomass, canopy and stem components were fitted by weighted-nonlinear seemingly unrelated regressions (WNSUR, estimator of equation systems) and by generalized nonlinear least squares (GNLS, independent estimator). In the performance of the estimators' analysis, especially with regard to biomass estimates and fitted statistics of the equations, it can be concluded about the equivalence of using equations adjusted by means of independent estimators or by system of equations. Moreover, this conclusion diverges when evaluating the biological consistency and efficiency of estimators. Estimating the biomass equations of the components and the total biomass independently is not realistic, because biologically these biomass estimates are inconsistent, i.e. they are not additive. The biomass estimates resultant from components and from total biomass, when adjusting system of equations, turns possible getting smaller confidence intervals than using equations adjusted independently, what make them more efficient. The estimator WNSUR provides better biological properties and statistics to estimate biomass allometric equation of components and total biomass when compared to independent estimators, thus this should be the method to be used. Finally, the examples presented in the literature review are useful for understanding the principals involved and dissemination purposes of these techniques. Keywords: Biological consistency. Efficient estimator. Derivation of weights. Confidence interval

Reconhecimento de emoções em vídeo utilizando redes neurais artificiais

TCC(graduação) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Centro Tecnológico. Ciências da Computação.O reconhecimento de emoções em faces humanas apresenta uma série de utilizações no campo de saúde, para análise comportamental, por exemplo. É uma tarefa altamente desafiadora pois necessita ter um bom desempenho, em questão de tempo e de assertividade, mas sem necessitar de grandes clusters de computação, deste modo, podendo funcionar em pequenos dispositivos. Este trabalho apresenta uma abordagem inicial para o desenvolvimento de um classificador de emoções faciais por meio de frames de um vídeo utilizando redes neurais convolucionais e máquinas de vetores de suporte. A proposta analisa um stream de vídeo e a partir da detecção de um rosto passa este rosto para o classificador de emoções, de modo que alcance uma taxa de assertividade aceitável para as emoções conhecidas. De modo a validar o classificador de emoções faciais, foram geradas matrizes de confusão com a emoção classificada pelo classificador e a real emoção presente no vídeo. Foram obtidos resultados de 80% acurácia para a identificação de emoções.The recognition of emotions in human faces presents a series of uses in the field of healthcare, for behavioral analysis, for example. It is a highly challenging task because it needs to perform well, in a matter of time and assertiveness, but without the need for large computing clusters, so that it can run on small devices. This work presents an initial approach for the development of a facial emotion classifier through the frames of a video using convolutional neural networks and support vector machines. The proposal analyzes a video stream and from the detection of a face passes this face to the emotion classifier so that it reaches an acceptable assertiveness rate for the known emotions. In order to validate the facial emotion classifier, matrices of confusion were generated with the emotion classified by the classifier and the real emotion present in the video

A produção de biomassa e o acúmulo de carbono em povoamentos de acácia negra em função de variáveis bioclimáticas

Orientador : Prof. Dr. Carlos Roberto SanquettaCoorientadora : Profª. Drª. Ana Paula Dalla CorteDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciências Agrárias, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Florestal. Defesa: Curitiba, 13/01/2014Inclui referênciasÁrea de concentração : Manejo florestalResumo: A pesquisa foi conduzida com a espécie acácia negra (Acacia mearnsii De Wild.), uma das essências florestais de maior importância no Brasil. O estudo a que se propôs teve objetivo de avaliar o efeito de variáveis bioclimáticas na produção de biomassa e no acúmulo de carbono da referida espécie. Foi conduzido em povoamentos comerciais situados nas regiões agroecológicas que concentram os seus plantios no Rio Grande do Sul: Encosta do Sudeste e Serra do Sudeste. A produção de biomassa total e o acúmulo de carbono são correlacionados com as variáveis bioclimáticas: radiação fotossinteticamente ativa interceptada, soma térmica, precipitação acumulada, temperatura média mínima do ar, temperatura média do ar e umidade relativa do ar. A variável com maior correlação, a radiação fotossinteticamente ativa interceptada, foi selecionada via o método stepwise para compor um modelo de predição. Essa variável dependente de vários fatores, que podem ser descritos por meio de variáveis biofísicas, tais como o coeficiente de extinção de luz e o índice de área foliar, que, por sua vez, interage com o ambiente. Dessa maneira, a radiação fotossinteticamente ativa interceptada, sendo uma variável associada à área de folhas (representada pelo índice de área foliar), bem como a dinâmica da interceptação da luz pelas folhas (denotada pelo coeficiente de extinção de luz), é influenciada pelas condições do ambiente em que as plantas são cultivadas e também pela própria estrutura da planta (caracterizada pelas mudanças morfométricas e morfológicas das folhas). Assim, ela é uma variável que tem grande chance de trazer boas respostas quanto à predição da biomassa e do acúmulo de carbono em diversas situações em que as plantas são cultivadas. Nesse sentido, a produção de biomassa ou o acúmulo de carbono (Y) de uma planta depende da quantidade de radiação solar fotossinteticamente ativa interceptada acumulada pelas folhas (RFAiac) e da eficiência com que a ela converta essa energia radiante em fotoassimilados (_b), por meio do processo fotossintético. O modelo resultante, Y = _b RFAiac + _i, demonstrou-se apropriado para a predição da biomassa e do acúmulo de carbono em povoamentos de acácia negra, revelando-se estável quanto às estatísticas de ajuste e resultados dos coeficientes quando testados em diferentes conjuntos de dados.Abstract: This research was conducted with black wattle (Acacia mearnsii De Wild.), one of the most important forest species in Brazil. This paper had the objective of assessing the effects of bioclimatic variables on biomass production and carbon accumulation of the aforementioned species. An experiment was conducted on commercial stands located on agroecological regions in which plantations of black wattle are concentrated, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul: Southeastern Slope and Southeastern Mountain Range. Biomass total production and carbon accumulation were correlated with the following bioclimatic variables: intercepted photosynthetically active radiation, thermic sum, accumulated precipitation, mean air minimum temperature, air mean temperature and air relative humidity. The variable which showed higher correlation the intercepted photosynthetically active radiation, was selected by the stepwise method to compose a prediction model. This variable depends on several factors, which can be described by biophysical variables, such as light extinction coefficient and leaf area index, which, in turn, interact with the environment. Thus, intercepted photosynthetically active radiation, being a variable associated with leaf area (represented by leaf area index), as well as leaf light interception dynamics (denoted by light extinction coefficient), is influenced by environmental conditions in which plants are grown as well as plants structure (characterized by leaves morphometric and morphological changes). Therefore, this variable has a great chance to come up with good answers for biomass production and carbon accumulation in different environmental conditions in which plants are cultivated. In accordance to this, biomass production and carbon accumulation (Y) of a plant depends on the amount of photosynthetically active radiation intercepted by its leaves (intPARac) and its conversion efficiency (_b) of radiant energy into photoassimilates, by its photosynthetic process. The resulting model, Y = _b intPARac + _i, demonstrated itself to be appropriate for biomass production and carbon accumulation prediction for black wattle stands, revealing to be stable by its fitting statistics and results obtained when used with another database

UNCERTAINTY ASSESSMENT IN VOLUME AND BIOMASS ESTIMATIONS IN FOREST STANDS

In Brazil, forest inventory variation is calculated independently, and model-related uncertainty is systematically ignored. Although methods of estimation evaluation and sampling uncertainty together are unknown in the country, they are indispensable for improving the results of forest inventories since obtaining high quality estimates is extremely important for the country, due to its large forest areas and distinguished for being a world leader in the supply of timber and non-timber forest products, and a reference as a provider of environmental services.  In view of the above, this paper presents the following study hypothesis: “Considering the uncertainty associated with inventory components: i - sampling and ii - regression model combined in the total variance of the forest inventory results in more accurate volume and biomass estimates” Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the uncertainties associated with sampling and the linear regression model in volume and biomass estimates in Acacia mearnsii stands in Brazil. To jointly evaluate these two sources of uncertainty, the hybrid variance estimator was used, with an analytical approach. The results showed that if model uncertainty is not considered, the total uncertainty is underestimated by 6.51%. In biomass estimates, the total uncertainty is underestimated by 18.74%. Ignoring uncertainty in total estimates can lead to uninformed decisions in forest management, with economic implications, particularly in biomass estimates, where the associated variation is even greater than in volume due to the nature of this variable

INTERDIMENSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS OF TREES IN GREEN AREAS IN CENTRAL CURITIBA, PARANÁ, BRAZIL

Morphometric analysis of trees can help in the selection of the most suitable species in urban areas, by allowing us to understand the dynamics of tree growth forms. The objective was to develop a morphometric index for trees located in green areas of Curitiba, Paraná. 122 trees of the five species with the highest number of records of fall and removal in Curitiba were selected: Tipuana tipu, Jacaranda mimosifolia, Erythrina falcata, Melia azedarach and Ligustrum lucidum, in the Passeio Público Municipal of Curitiba and in nine squares located in the Centro district. From the biometric data obtained in the field, the Integrated Morphometric Index (IMI) was calculated through multivariate factorial analysis performed in the statistical software IBM SPSS® Statistics. There was low variability between interdimensional sizes, indicating a pattern of growth among species, especially for T. tipu. On the other hand, J. mimosifolia, E. falcata and M. azedarach present greater variability of the morphometric data, with trees of size considerably higher than the average of the others, while L. lucidum was the species with the smallest interdimensional size. The biometric variables total height, crown height, north crown radius, east crown radius and DBH were the most correlated with the tree growth pattern, explaining 57.9% of the data variation. The generated IMI was adequate to evaluate the behavior of the variables, as it explained 72% of the data variation. The T. tipu trees showed the lowest variability between their interdimensional sizes, thus indicating a more evident growth pattern for this species

NONPARAMETRIC METHOD: KERNEL DENSITY ESTIMATION APPLIED TO FORESTRY DATA

Probability density function can be fitted through parametric or non-parametric methods. The use of a non-parametric method is interesting and appropriate, considering its flexibility and better adjustment to multimodal data. The objective of the present study was to compare the performance of the non-parametric distribution in relation to the parametric distribution in these cases. We used six separate sets of forest database with bimodality and asymmetric characteristics. The probability density functions were estimated for each set of data using the KDE method. To evaluate the effectiveness of the KDE method, parametric probability distributions were also adjusted for the same data. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was applied to evaluate the goodness of fit of the parametric distributions. The distributions obtained through the two methods were compared graphically to identify if the nonparametric and parametric methods are equally efficient to obtain the underlying distribution, especially for bimodal and asymmetric distributions. The KDE method is an appropriate alternative for describing probability distributions in forest data, especially when bi- or multimodality occurs

ESTIMATES OF PRODAN’S SAMPLING METHOD APPLIED TO NELDER'S SYSTEMATIC DESIGN

Prodan’s sampling method presents relevant characteristics to obtain estimates of the dendrometric variables per hectare in a Nelder systematic design, because it is practical method and maintains the same number of trees sampled in all sample units for the different spacings. The objective of the research was to evaluate the performance of the estimates number of trees, basal area, and volume per hectare in different spacings with the Prodan’s sampling method, under the hypothesis that these estimates show decreasing behavior with increasing spacing. The data used in the study are from an experiment with nine Nelder plots, established with ten clones of Eucalyptus spp., in the state of Tocantins, Brazil. From the center of the sample unit – SU a reference tree was selected, and the eight nearest trees composed the SU. The estimates of number of trees, basal area and volume per hectare were calculated using the Prodan’s method estimators. Statistical differences between the estimates of the clones and between their spacing were evaluated by multivariate profile analysis. The behavior of the dendrometric variables was inversely proportional to spacing, that is, their estimates decreased with the  increase of spacing. The number of trees is more influenced by spacing, and additionally with plant genetic material and mortality also influenced estimates of basal area and volume per hectare. Prodan’s sampling method is appropriate and practical to obtain the estimates per hectare in Nelder’s design because it is not necessary to measure all the trees of the experiment. What do you want to do ?New mailCop