Comparative and Interpretative Analysis of CNN and Transformer Models in Predicting Wildfire Spread Using Remote Sensing Data

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Zhou, Yihang, Kong, Ruige, Xu, Zhengsen, Xu, Linlin, Cheng, Sibo
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Zhou, Yihang
Kong, Ruige
Xu, Zhengsen
Xu, Linlin
Cheng, Sibo
author_facet Zhou, Yihang
Kong, Ruige
Xu, Zhengsen
Xu, Linlin
Cheng, Sibo
contents Facing the escalating threat of global wildfires, numerous computer vision techniques using remote sensing data have been applied in this area. However, the selection of deep learning methods for wildfire prediction remains uncertain due to the lack of comparative analysis in a quantitative and explainable manner, crucial for improving prevention measures and refining models. This study aims to thoroughly compare the performance, efficiency, and explainability of four prevalent deep learning architectures: Autoencoder, ResNet, UNet, and Transformer-based Swin-UNet. Employing a real-world dataset that includes nearly a decade of remote sensing data from California, U.S., these models predict the spread of wildfires for the following day. Through detailed quantitative comparison analysis, we discovered that Transformer-based Swin-UNet and UNet generally outperform Autoencoder and ResNet, particularly due to the advanced attention mechanisms in Transformer-based Swin-UNet and the efficient use of skip connections in both UNet and Transformer-based Swin-UNet, which contribute to superior predictive accuracy and model interpretability. Then we applied XAI techniques on all four models, this not only enhances the clarity and trustworthiness of models but also promotes focused improvements in wildfire prediction capabilities. The XAI analysis reveals that UNet and Transformer-based Swin-UNet are able to focus on critical features such as 'Previous Fire Mask', 'Drought', and 'Vegetation' more effectively than the other two models, while also maintaining balanced attention to the remaining features, leading to their superior performance. The insights from our thorough comparative analysis offer substantial implications for future model design and also provide guidance for model selection in different scenarios.
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id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_14150
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Comparative and Interpretative Analysis of CNN and Transformer Models in Predicting Wildfire Spread Using Remote Sensing Data
Zhou, Yihang
Kong, Ruige
Xu, Zhengsen
Xu, Linlin
Cheng, Sibo
Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
Image and Video Processing
Facing the escalating threat of global wildfires, numerous computer vision techniques using remote sensing data have been applied in this area. However, the selection of deep learning methods for wildfire prediction remains uncertain due to the lack of comparative analysis in a quantitative and explainable manner, crucial for improving prevention measures and refining models. This study aims to thoroughly compare the performance, efficiency, and explainability of four prevalent deep learning architectures: Autoencoder, ResNet, UNet, and Transformer-based Swin-UNet. Employing a real-world dataset that includes nearly a decade of remote sensing data from California, U.S., these models predict the spread of wildfires for the following day. Through detailed quantitative comparison analysis, we discovered that Transformer-based Swin-UNet and UNet generally outperform Autoencoder and ResNet, particularly due to the advanced attention mechanisms in Transformer-based Swin-UNet and the efficient use of skip connections in both UNet and Transformer-based Swin-UNet, which contribute to superior predictive accuracy and model interpretability. Then we applied XAI techniques on all four models, this not only enhances the clarity and trustworthiness of models but also promotes focused improvements in wildfire prediction capabilities. The XAI analysis reveals that UNet and Transformer-based Swin-UNet are able to focus on critical features such as 'Previous Fire Mask', 'Drought', and 'Vegetation' more effectively than the other two models, while also maintaining balanced attention to the remaining features, leading to their superior performance. The insights from our thorough comparative analysis offer substantial implications for future model design and also provide guidance for model selection in different scenarios.
title Comparative and Interpretative Analysis of CNN and Transformer Models in Predicting Wildfire Spread Using Remote Sensing Data
topic Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
Image and Video Processing
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.14150