Abstract
In this paper, we study the application of the box counting method (BCM) to estimate the fractal dimension of 3D plant foliage. We use artificial crowns with known theoretical fractal dimension to characterize the accuracy of the BCM and we extend the approach to 3D digitized plants. In particular, errors are experimentally characterized for the estimated values of the fractal dimension. Results show that, with careful protocols, the estimated values are quite accurate. Several limits of the BCM are also analyzed in this context. This analysis is used to introduce a new estimator, derived from the BCM estimator, whose behavior is characterized.
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Godin, C.: Representing and encoding plant architecture: A review. Annals of Forest Science 57, 413–438 (2000)
Mandelbrot, B.B.: The fractal geometry of nature. Freeman, New York (1983)
Smith, A.R.: Plants, fractals, and formal languages. In: Siggraph 1984, Computer Graphics Proceedings, vol. 18, pp. 1–10. ACM Press, New York (1984)
Barnsley, M.: Fractals Everywhere. Academic Press, Boston (1988)
Prusinkiewicz, P., Hanan, J.: Lindenmayer systems, fractals, and plants. Lecture Notes in Biomathematics, vol. 75 (1989)
Chen, S., Ceulemans, R., Impens, I.: A fractal-based Populus canopy structure model for the calculation of light interception. Forest Ecology and Management 69(1-3), 97–110 (1994)
Prusinkiewicz, P., Mundermann, L., Karwowski, R., Lane, B.: The use of positional information in the modeling of plants. In: Siggraph 2001, Computer Graphics Proceedings, pp. 289–300. ACM Press, New York (2001)
Fitter, A.H.: An architectural approach to the comparative ecology of plant root systems. New Phytologist 106(1), 61–77 (1987)
Eshel, A.: On the fractal dimensions of a root system. Plant, Cell & Environment 21(2), 247+ (1998)
Oppelt, A.L., Kurth, W., Dzierzon, H., Jentschke, G., Godbold, D.L.: Structure and fractal dimensions of root systems of four co-occurring fruit tree species from Botswana. Annals of Forest Science 57, 463–475 (2000)
Morse, D.R., Lawton, J.H., Dodson, M.M., Williamson, M.H.: Fractal dimension of vegetation and the distribution of arthropod body lengths. Nature 314(6013), 731–733 (1985)
Critten, D.L.: Fractal dimension relationships and values associated with certain plant canopies. Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research 67(1), 61–72 (1997)
Falconer, K.: Fractal geometry: mathematical foundation and applications. John Wiley and Sons, Chichester (1990)
Boudon, F., Pradal, C., Nouguier, C., Godin, C.: Geom module manual: I user guide. Technical Report 3, CIRAD (2001)
Sonohat, G., Sinoquet, H., Kulandaivelu, V., Combes, D., Lescourret, F.: Three-dimensional reconstruction of partially 3d-digitized peach tree canopies. Tree Physiol 26(3), 337–351 (2006)
Falconer, K.: Techniques in fractal geometry. John Wiley and Sons, Chichester (1997)
Plotnick, R.E., Gardner, R.H., O’Neill, R.V.: Lacunarity indices as measures of landscape texture. Landscape Ecology 8, 201–211 (1993)
Andres, E., Nehlig, P., Françon, J.: Supercover of straight lines, planes and triangles. In: Proceedings of DGCI 1997, pp. 243–254. Springer, London (1997)
Pfister, H., Zwicker, W., van Baar, J., Gross, M.: Surfels: surface elements as rendering primitives. In: Siggraph 2000, Computer Graphics Proceedings, pp. 335–342. ACM Press, Los angeles (2000)
Foroutan-Pour, K., Dutilleul, P., Smith, D.L.: Advances in the implementation of the box-counting method of fractal dimension estimation. Applied Mathematics and Computation 105(2), 195–210 (1999)
Halley, J.M., Hartley, S., Kallimanis, A.S., Kunin, W.E., Lennon, J.J., Sgardelis, S.P.: Uses and abuses of fractal methodology in ecology. Ecology 7, 254–271 (2004)
Reeve, R.: A warning about standard errors when estimating the fractal dimension. Comput. Geosci. 18(1), 89–91 (1992)
Boudon, F., Godin, C., Pradal, P., Puech, O., Sinoquet, H.: Estimating the fractal dimension of plants using the two-surface method. an analysis based on 3d-digitized tree foliage. Fractals 14(3) (2006)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2006 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Da Silva, D., Boudon, F., Godin, C., Puech, O., Smith, C., Sinoquet, H. (2006). A Critical Appraisal of the Box Counting Method to Assess the Fractal Dimension of Tree Crowns. In: Bebis, G., et al. Advances in Visual Computing. ISVC 2006. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 4291. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/11919476_75
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/11919476_75
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-48628-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-48631-2
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)