用高分辨率景观数据让物种分布模型更可解释,发现新生态规律
A High-Resolution Landscape Dataset for Concept-Based XAI With Application to Species Distribution Models

- 基于无人机影像构建653个景观概念图块,支持概念可解释性分析
- 在两种水生昆虫上验证,模型预测与专家知识一致并发现新关联
- 适合生态学家、保护政策制定者及需要可解释性的模型研究者
物种空间分布制图对保护政策和外来物种管理至关重要。物种分布模型(SDMs)是主要工具,既要具备强预测能力,又要提供驱动因素的生态洞察。但深度学习模型的复杂性使解释愈发困难。为此,我们首次将概念基础的可解释人工智能(XAI)应用于SDMs,采用鲁棒TCAV方法量化景观概念对预测的影响。为此,我们提供了基于高分辨率多光谱与LiDAR无人机影像的新开源景观概念数据集,包含653个景观概念图块(覆盖15类景观)和1,450个随机参考图块,适用于多种物种。通过两种卷积神经网络和一个视觉变换器对两种水生昆虫(Plecoptera和Trichoptera)进行案例研究,结果表明概念基XAI能验证模型与专家知识的一致性,并揭示新关联以生成新的生态假说。鲁棒TCAV还提供了景观层面信息,有助于政策制定与土地管理。代码与数据集已公开。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
Mapping the spatial distribution of species is essential for conservation policy and invasive species management. Species distribution models (SDMs) are the primary tools for this task, serving two purposes: achieving robust predictive performance while providing ecological insights into the driving factors of distribution. However, the increasing complexity of deep learning SDMs has made extracting these insights more challenging. To reconcile these objectives, we propose the first implementation of concept-based Explainable AI (XAI) for SDMs. We leverage the Robust TCAV (Testing with Concept Activation Vectors) methodology to quantify the influence of landscape concepts on model predictions. To enable this, we provide a new open-access landscape concept dataset derived from high-resolution multispectral and LiDAR drone imagery. It includes 653 patches across 15 distinct landscape concepts and 1,450 random reference patches, designed to suit a wide range of species. We demonstrate this approach through a case study of two aquatic insects, Plecoptera and Trichoptera, using two Convolutional Neural Networks and one Vision Transformer. Results show that concept-based XAI helps validate SDMs against expert knowledge while uncovering novel associations that generate new ecological hypotheses. Robust TCAV also provides landscape-level information, useful for policy-making and land management. Code and datasets are publicly available.
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