Advancing Forest Management: Integrating LiDAR and RGB Imagery through Ordered Weighted Averaging Operators

This chapter introduces a novel approach to tree detection by fusing LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and RGB imagery, leveraging Ordered Weighted Averaging (OWA) aggregation operators to improve image fusing. It focuses on enhancing tree detection and classification by combining LiDAR’s structural data with the spectral details from RGB images. The fusion methodology aims to optimize information retrieval, employing image segmentation and advanced classification techniques. The effectiveness of this method is demonstrated on the PNOA dataset, highlighting its potential for supporting forest management.