Detecting Species Diversity by Image Texture Analysis

A system for measuring species diversity, comprising:

• an image preparation module configured to:
• receive a first image of a first landscape;
• receive a second image of a second landscape;
• represent a portion of the first image as a first region of interest comprising a multiplicity of pixels, and
• represent a portion of the second image as a second region of interest comprising a multiplicity of pixels;
• a texture analysis module, configured to calculate at least one textural characteristic of each region of interest;
• and
• a species diversity calculator, configured to calculate the species diversity between the first landscape and the second landscape based on the textural features.

A method of measuring species richness, comprising:

• receiving an image of a landscape;
• representing a portion of the image as a region of interest comprising a multiplicity of pixels;
• calculating at least one textural feature of the region of interest;
• and
• calculating species richness based on the at least one textural feature of the region of interest.

A method of measuring species diversity, comprising:

• receiving a first image of a first landscape;
• receiving a second image of a second landscape;
• representing a portion of the first image as a first region of interest comprising a multiplicity of pixels;
• representing a portion of the second image as a second region of interest comprising a multiplicity of pixels;
• comparing at least one textural feature of the first region of interest and the second region of interest;
• and
• calculating the species diversity between the first landscape and the second landscape based on the comparison of the at least one textural features of the regions of interest.