Search arXivSearch

arXiv · 2311.02492

Forecasting Post-Wildfire Vegetation Recovery in California using a Convolutional Long Short-Term Memory Tensor Regression Network

Abstract

The study of post-wildfire plant regrowth is essential for developing successful ecosystem recovery strategies. Prior research mainly examines key ecological and biogeographical factors influencing post-fire succession. This research proposes a novel approach for predicting and analyzing post-fire plant recovery. We develop a Convolutional Long Short-Term Memory Tensor Regression (ConvLSTMTR) network that predicts future Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) based on short-term plant growth data after fire containment. The model is trained and tested on 104 major California wildfires occurring between 2013 and 2020, each with burn areas exceeding 3000 acres. The integration of ConvLSTM with tensor regression enables the calculation of an overall logistic growth rate k using predicted NDVI. Overall, our k-value predictions demonstrate impressive performance, with 50% of predictions exhibiting an absolute error of 0.12 or less, and 75% having an error of 0.24 or less. Finally, we employ Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection (UMAP) and KNN clustering to identify recovery trends, offering insights into regions with varying rates of recovery. This study pioneers the combined use of tensor regression and ConvLSTM, and introduces the application of UMAP for clustering similar wildfires. This advances predictive ecological modeling and could inform future post-fire vegetation management strategies.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Jiahe Liu, Xiaodi Wang. 2023-11-04. Forecasting Post-Wildfire Vegetation Recovery in California using a Convolutional Long Short-Term Memory Tensor Regression Network. https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.02492

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

Online Regularized Statistical Learning in Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Space With Non-Stationary Data

We study recursive regularized learning algorithms in the reproducing kernel Hilbert space (RKHS) with non-stationary online data streams. We introduce the concept of a random Tikhonov regularization path and decompose the tracking error of the algorithm's output for the regularization path into random difference equations in RKHS. We show that the tracking error vanishes in mean square and almost surely if the regularization path is slowly time-varying. Then, leveraging the monotonicity of inverse operators and the spectral decomposition of compact operators, and introducing the RKHS persistence of excitation condition, we develop a dominated convergence method to prove the mean square and almost sure consistency between the regularization path and the unknown function to be learned. Especially, for independent and non-identically distributed data streams, the mean square and almost sure consistency between the algorithm's output and the unknown function is achieved if the input data's marginal probability measures are slowly time-varying and the average measure over each fixed-length time period is uniformly above a strictly positive finite Borel measure.

cs.LG

Reflective Policy Optimization

On-policy reinforcement learning methods, like Trust Region Policy Optimization (TRPO) and Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO), often demand extensive data per update, leading to sample inefficiency. This paper introduces Reflective Policy Optimization (RPO), a novel on-policy extension that amalgamates past and future state-action information for policy optimization. This approach empowers the agent for introspection, allowing modifications to its actions within the current state. Theoretical analysis confirms that policy performance is monotonically improved and contracts the solution space, consequently expediting the convergence procedure. Empirical results demonstrate RPO's feasibility and efficacy in two reinforcement learning benchmarks, culminating in superior sample efficiency. The source code of this work is available at https://github.com/Edgargan/RPO.

cs.LG

Transductive Off-policy Proximal Policy Optimization

Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) is a popular model-free reinforcement learning algorithm, esteemed for its simplicity and efficacy. However, due to its inherent on-policy nature, its proficiency in harnessing data from disparate policies is constrained. This paper introduces a novel off-policy extension to the original PPO method, christened Transductive Off-policy PPO (ToPPO). Herein, we provide theoretical justification for incorporating off-policy data in PPO training and prudent guidelines for its safe application. Our contribution includes a novel formulation of the policy improvement lower bound for prospective policies derived from off-policy data, accompanied by a computationally efficient mechanism to optimize this bound, underpinned by assurances of monotonic improvement. Comprehensive experimental results across six representative tasks underscore ToPPO's promising performance.

cs.LG