Tree Species Identification from UAV RGB Images using Deep Learning Techniques
Speaker(s): Yunmei Huang, Purdue University
Description: This research aims to classify tree species using UAV RGB images and evaluate the performance of state-of-the-art models. Five deep-learning models are trained with datasets collected from three seasons. All models perform the best on summer images. The model trained in one season can't transfer well to another.

Explaining AI and Remote Sensing to Non-Scientists Through Online Learning in Applied Forestry (OLAF)
Speaker(s): Pete Bettinger, University of Georgia
Description: This presentation provides details on the narratives and tactics employed to describe key components of artificial intelligence and remote sensing systems, in a succinct and comprehensible fashion, in the Online Learning in Applied Forestry (OLAF) system. We focus on the application of these advanced systems to forest measurement and management.

Tree Species Shift and Climate Change Across CONUS in the Past 20 Years
Speaker(s): Jianmin Wang, Purdue University
Description: Trees have moved in vertical direction in western US and in horizontal direction in eastern US. Saplings have shifted faster than trees. Obligate wetland plants tended to shift downward, eastward, and southward likely due to changes in moisture availability.

SAF CFE: 0.5 Category 1 CFE
ESA CEU: 0.125

Entire video must be viewed to receive SAF CFE and/or ESA CEU credit.

Creating a Successful Certification Prep Course
Speaker(s): Rebecca Johnson, Arborholic, LLC
Description: Certifications are key to career advancement, however many employees in the green industry struggle to prepare for certification exams. The Texas A&M Forest Service developed a model for a IISA Certified Arborist exam prep class which we have expanded and made affordable to arborists in the Central Texas Region.

Modeling Seasonality in Wildfire Suppression Expenditures
Speaker(s): Bruno Kanieski Da Silva, Mississippi State University
Description: We investigate the drivers and long-term behavior of suppression expenditures of the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior. Our study emphasizes the importance of seasonality in monthly expenditures and the need for different modeling approaches to better understand the relationship between climate variables and suppression costs.

Developing Flexible Systems of Taper, Volume, and Biomass Equations to Meet Diverse Management Objectives
Speaker(s): Dehai Zhao, University of Georgia
Description: This presentation will provide modeling strategies for developing flexible systems of tree taper, volume, and weight equations to meet diverse needs, focusing on model structures to ensure complete compatibility of taper and volume equations and additivity of biomass equations and model estimation methods associated with different model structures.

SAF CFE: 0.5 Category 1 CFE
ESA CEU: 0.125

Entire video must be viewed to receive SAF CFE and/or ESA CEU credit.

Status of Forest Growth to Removal Rate in Arkansas
Speaker(s): Sagar Godar Chhetri, University of Arkansas At Monticello
Description: The proposal aims to provide the status of the current timber supply condition to forest industries in Arkansas. The preliminary results found that the annual growth rate was 1.6 times higher than the removal rate and is significantly different among species types (Pine vs Hardwood) and ecoregions.

No SAF CFE nor ESA credit is available for this presentation.