Applying Image Analysis and Probabilistic Techniques for Counting Olive Trees in High-Resolution Satellite Images

This paper proposes a method, that integrates image analysis and probabilistic techniques, for counting olive trees in high-resolution satellite images. Counting trees becomes significant for surveying and inventorying forests, and in certain cases relevant for assessing estimates of the production of plantations, as it is the case of the olive trees fields. The method presented in this paper exploits the particular characteristics of parcels, i.e. a certain reticular layout and a similar appearance of trees, to yield a probabilistic measure that captures the confident of each spot in the image to be an olive tree. Some promising experimental results have been obtained in satellite images taken from QuickBird.