Computer-aided classification of successional stage in subtropical Atlantic Forest: a proposal based on fuzzy artificial intelligence.

Statement Of Problem: Due to the continuous variability of the forest regeneration process, patterns of indicator variables with membership in more than one successional stage may occur, making the classification of such stages a challenging and complex task.

Purpose: This study aims at presenting a comparative analysis of artificial intelligence methods as an alternative for computer-aided classification of successional stages in subtropical Atlantic Forest. As a research hypothesis, the authors consider that a fuzzy inference system should provide the best performance due to its ability to deal with uncertainties inherent to complex processes.