Abstract: This study presents a novel deep learning (DL) model for tropical forest canopy mapping using high-resolution multisource remote sensing (RS) data. The model integrates soft attention mechanisms and recurrent residual (R2) networks with a U-Net backbone to enhance feature focus and capture contextual information. Evaluated using the mean intersection over union (MIo U) metric, the proposed model achieved 0.9521 accuracy, surpassing the traditional U-Net (0.9266), U-Net with attention (0.9383), and Deeplabv3+ (0.9419) models. It also generated superior forest canopy change maps. These improvements enable better monitoring of tropical forests, which face increasing anthropogenic threats from deforestation, urban sprawl, agriculture, and climate change.
Springer, 2nd International Conference on Machine Intelligence and Emerging Technologies (MIET 2024), 2025
Madinah Nabukeera, Kassim Kalinaki, Moses Matovu, Muhammad Abdus Salam
IEEE Xplore, IST Africa , 2025
Alaphat Ummusalaam, Gilbert Gilbrays Ocen, Davis Matovu, Kassim Kalinaki