Data-driven authoring of large-scale ecosystems

Multimedia Systems, 2018

Realistic and interactive visualization of individual trees is a desirable functionality in numerous applications for landscape planning, ecosystem simulations, and forest management. However, achieving a persuasive visualization of extensive forests while maintaining an interactive experience remains a challenge. This paper introduces a new framework for a convincing and interactive visualization of large-scale forests originating from forest growth simulation. First, the GPU-based selforganizing tree synthesis algorithm is adapted to produce detailed tree models on-the-fly with the desired level of detail and at interactive rates. Next, the algorithm is enhanced to generate tree models corresponding to the forest simulation results and local growth conditions. Finally, a forest succession model, based on single trees, is linked to the tree synthesis algorithm, to produce detailed tree models that concur with the results of forest simulation. The results demonstrate that the generated trees follow predicted height from forest simulation, are adapted to their neighbors properly, and retain the typical form of the corresponding species. A decimation technique, integrated directly into tree geometry construction, lowers memory requirements for interactive visualization of forests containing thousands of trees. Finally, a combination of the GPU-based tree synthesis and load balancing enables interactive tree synthesis in-between individual frames.

Information Sciences, 2013

We propose an environmental framework for simulation and visualization of woody plant forests. A complex application software system develops and animates a spontaneous afforestation process within this environment. The system considers several environmental properties and combines computer animation with artificial life. The main goal of the presented software system is to use it in computer animation for synthesis of natural environments and visual analysis of their natural look credibility. The afforestation process is modeled as an ecosystem simulation, where trees struggle for survival based on several growth factors. A detailed description of the procedures for simulating tree growth and the factors that might influence tree growth is provided. All the tree growth simulation procedures and factors are biologically inspired. They have been defined mathematically in the paper by designing a bottom-up agent model which emerges the artificial tree distribution by mediating to the simulation. A flexible and adaptable procedural 3D model is used to visualize trees. Also, growth of individual trees is animated, from development of branch complexity to per-leaf precision, which allows a very realistic perception of the emerging ecosystem. The visualization of trees is sped up so that the models of trees have progressively lower-details proportional to the distance from a certain point of view. Locations and maturity of visualized trees are obtained from the ecosystem simulation results, and the afforestation process is animated over several centuries. The natural look of the artificial tree distribution is confirmed visually and statistically. Visually, it is confirmed from rendered sequences, and statistically, from graphs of tree species populations. Several patterns emerge permanentely, such as the number of trees in the ecosystem simulation increasing exponentially and trees growing in communities.

Creating natural forest landscapes for virtual environments require some basic knowledge of botany and ecology, without which the terrain may appear synthetic. While tools such as scene editors have made a designer’s job easier, manually creating a natural-looking landscape is time consuming and, depending on the knowledge the artist possesses, often do not follow the principles of ecology and spatially viable plant positioning. This research attempts to study how lessons from ecological modelling can be adopted for growing vegetation as ground cover for outdoor scenes of virtual worlds. The algorithms presented attempt to simulate ecologically and spatially realistic placement of plants, from which the XML-based position data can be used for populating other 2D and 3D virtual worlds. The simulation results show the potentials of such a venture in future more complex developments, such as real-time plant growth and state changes in virtual environments.

IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, 2011

Creating natural forest landscapes for virtual environments (VEs) requires basic knowledge of botany and ecology, without which the terrain might appear synthetic. Although tools such as scene editors have made designers' jobs easier, manually creating a natural-looking landscape is time-consuming. And, depending on the artist's knowledge, the results often don't follow the principles of ecology and spatially viable plant positioning. A proposed approach adopts lessons from ecological modeling to grow vegetation as ground cover for virtual outdoor scenes. It simulates ecologically and spatially realistic placement of plants, from which users can employ the XML-based position data to populate other 2D and 3D VEs. Simulation results show this approach's potential for more complex applications, such as real-time plant growth and state changes in VEs.

2007

ACM Transactions on Graphics, 2021

circuits, and a modified terrain with eroded trails from a terrain, climatic conditions, and species with related biological information. We introduce the Resource Access Graph, a new data structure that encodes both interactions between food chain levels and animals traveling between resources over the terrain. A novel competition algorithm operating on this data progressively computes a steady-state solution up the food chain, from plants to carnivores. The user can explore the resulting landscape, where plants and animals are instantiated on the fly, and interactively edit it by over-painting the maps. Our results show that our system enables the authoring of consistent landscapes where the impact of wildlife is visible through animated animals, clearings in the vegetation, and eroded trails. We provide quantitative validation with existing ecosystems and a user-study with expert paleontologist end-users, showing that our system enables them to author and compare different ecosystems illustrating climate changes over the same terrain while enabling relevant visual immersion into consistent landscapes. CCS Concepts: • Computing methodologies → Procedural animation.

Computers, 2020

A handful of approaches have been previously proposed to generate procedurally virtual forestry for virtual worlds and computer games, including plant growth models and point distribution methods. However, there has been no evaluation to date which assesses how effective these algorithms are at modelling real-world phenomena. In this paper, we tackle this issue by evaluating three algorithms used in the generation of virtual forests-a randomly uniform point distribution method (control), a plant competition model, and an iterative random point distribution technique. Our results show that a plant competition model generated more believable content when viewed from an aerial perspective. Interestingly, however, we also found that a randomly uniform point distribution method produced forestry which was rated higher in playability and photorealism, when viewed from a first-person perspective. We conclude that the objective of the game designer is important to consider when selecting an algorithm to generate forestry, as the algorithms produce forestry that is perceived differently.

The complexity of nature can only be solved by nature’s intrinsic problem-solving approach. Therefore, the computational modelling of nature requires careful observations of its underlying principles in order that these laws can be abstracted into formulas suitable for the algorithmic configuration. This chapter proposes a novel modelling approach for biodiversity informatics research. The approach is based on the emergence phenomenon for predicting vegetation distribution patterns in a multi-variable ecosystem where Artificial Lifebased vegetation grow, compete, adapt, reproduce and conquer plots of landscape in order to survive their generation. The feasibility of the modelling approach presented in this chapter may provide a firm foundation not only for predicting vegetation distribution in a wide variety of landscapes, but could also be extended for studying biodiversity and the loss of animal species for sustainable management of resources.

2013

Generating and visualizing large areas of vegetation that look natural makes terrain surfaces much more realistic. However, this is a challenging field in computer graphics, because ecological systems are complex and visually appealing plant models are geometrically detailed. This work presents Silva (System for the Instantiation of Large Vegetated Areas), a system to generate and visualize large vegetated areas based on the ecological surrounding. Silva generates vegetation on Wang-tiles with associated reusable distri-Digital Peer Publishing Licence Any party may pass on this Work by electronic means and make it available for download under the terms and conditions of the current version of the Digital Peer Publishing Licence (DPPL). The text of the licence may be accessed and retrieved via Internet at

2006

In this paper we propose an interactive user friendly tool to design tree models. Our tool enables more flexible and rapid construction of procedural models by use of graphs to design local branch parameters as vector data. Our obtained procedural models can also be shaped by placing them in natural environments. Built procedural models can be used in up to perleaf precision animation for simulation of afforestation.

2019

Context: Conservation planning and land management are inherently spatial processes that are most effective when implemented over large areas. Objectives: Our objectives were to (i) use existing plot data to aggregate species inventories to growth forms and derive indicators of vegetation structure and composition and ii) generate spatially-explicit, continuous, landscape scaled models of these discrete vegetation indicators, accompanied by maps of model uncertainty. Method: Using a case study from New South Wales, Australia, we aggregated floristic observations from 7234 sites into growth forms. We trained ensembles of artificial neural networks (ANN) to predict the distribution of these indicators over a broad region covering 11.5 million hectares. Importantly, we show spatially explicit models of uncertainty so that end-users have a tangible and transparent means of assessing models. Results: Our key findings were firstly, widely available site-based floristic records can be used...

International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering Technology (IJRASET), 2022

Procedural foliage generation refers to the generation of flora features, through the use of algorithms, with minimal input required from the user. In the process of game development, generating foliage is often an important part of the game development process. Traditional generation methods are often too time-consuming, especially with larger foliage variety. On the other hand, procedural methods that generate foliage automatically often do not have much user control over the output. We explore the usage of Lindenmayer systems in the creation of tree assets.

: A 3D model of a tree is imported (a). Our system automatically computes a dynamic model that is able to react interactively to environmental changes such as trees growing together (b) or when obstacles are moved towards the tree and cast shadow on it (c)-(e).

ACM SIGGRAPH …, 1988

Some very impressive results have been obtained in the past few years in plants and trees image synthesis. Some algorithms are largely based on the irregularity and fuzziness of the objects, and use fractals, graftals or particle systems. Others focus on the branching pattern of the trees with emphasis on morphology. Our concern here is the faithfulness of the models to the botanical nature of trees and plants. We present a model which integrates botanical knowledge of the architecture of the trees: how they grow, how they occupy space, where and how leaves,flowers or fruits are located, etc. The very first interest of the model we propose is its great richness: the same procedural methods can produce "plants" as different as weeping willows, fir trees, cedar trees, frangipani trees, poplars, pine trees, wild cherry trees, herbs, etc. Another very important benefit one can deriw from the model is the integration of time which enables viewing the aging of a tree (possibility to get different pictures of the same tree at different ages, accurate simulation of the death of leaves and branches for example). The ease to integrate physical parameters such as wind, the incidence of factors such as insects attacks, use of fertilizers, plantation density, and so on makes it a useful tool for agronomy or botany.