Forestry Segmentation Using Depth Information: A Method for Cost Saving, Preservation, and Accuracy

Forests are critical ecosystems, supporting biodiversity, economic resources, and climate regulation. The traditional techniques applied in forestry segmentation based on RGB photos struggle in challenging circumstances, such as fluctuating lighting, occlusions, and densely overlapping structures, which results in imprecise tree detection and categorization. Despite their effectiveness, semantic segmentation models have trouble recognizing trees apart from background objects in cluttered surroundings. In order to overcome these restrictions, this study advances forestry management by integrating depth information into the YOLOv8 segmentation model using the FinnForest dataset. Results show significant improvements in detection accuracy, particularly for spruce trees, where mAP50 increased from 0.778 to 0.848 and mAP50-95 from 0.472 to 0.523. These findings demonstrate the potential of depth-enhanced models to overcome the limitations of traditional RGB-based segmentation, particularly in complex forest environments with overlapping structures. Depth-enhanced semantic segmentation enables precise mapping of tree species, health, and spatial arrangements, critical for habitat analysis, wildfire risk assessment, and sustainable resource management. By addressing the challenges of size, distance, and lighting variations, this approach supports accurate forest monitoring, improved resource conservation, and automated decision-making in forestry. This research highlights the transformative potential of depth integration in segmentation models, laying a foundation for broader applications in forestry and environmental conservation. Future studies could expand dataset diversity, explore alternative depth technologies like LiDAR, and benchmark against other architectures to enhance performance and adaptability further.