Title: An enhanced infrared-visible image fusion method based on NSCT and fuzzy logic for stumpage identification in forest

Authors: Xiaokang Ding; Yingyu Ji

Addresses: College of Mechanical Engineering, Quzhou University, Quzhou, Zhejiang, 324000, China ' College of Mechanical Engineering, Quzhou University, Quzhou, Zhejiang, 324000, China

Abstract: Information processing of stumpage in forest area is a key content of forestry intellectualisation research. In this study, instead of the traditional three-dimensional laser measurement, an enhanced algorithm for the fusion of infrared and visible images is introduced. The proposed method initially utilises the non-subsampled Contourlet transform (NSCT) to decompose the images into their respective low and high-frequency sub-bands. Subsequently, the fusion of the low-frequency sub-bands is executed using a regional energy-based method supplemented by fuzzy logic to determine the fusion coefficients. In contrast, the high-frequency sub-bands are fused by assessing the regional gradient differences. The process culminates in the reconstruction of the fused images through the application of the NSCT inverse transform. In this paper, stumpage images in forest are taken as experimental objects. The results show that the algorithm enhances the edge of images and improves the quality of images, which provides a powerful information basis for subsequent stumpage recognition.

Keywords: stumpage identification; infrared-visible image; non-subsampled Contourlet transform; NSCT; fuzzy logic; image fusion.

DOI: 10.1504/IJISTA.2026.152056

International Journal of Intelligent Systems Technologies and Applications, 2026 Vol.24 No.1, pp.103 - 117

Received: 14 Mar 2025
Accepted: 25 Jul 2025
Published online: 04 Mar 2026 *

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