Comparative analysis of convolutional neural network architecture for post forest fire area classification based on vegetation image

Abstract

This study presents a comparative analysis of 7 Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) architectures—MobileNetV2, VGG16, VGG19, LeNet5, AlexNet, ResNet50, and InceptionV3—for classifying post-forest fire areas using field-based vegetation imagery. A total of 56 models were evaluated through combinations of batch size, input size, and optimizer. The results show that MobileNetV2, VGG16, and VGG19 outperformed other models, with validation accuracies exceeding 88%. MobileNetV2 emerged as the most balanced model, achieving 96% accuracy with the lowest model size and training time, making it ideal for resource-constrained applications. This study highlights the potential of CNN-based classification using mobile field imagery, offering an efficient alternative to costly and condition-dependent satellite or drone data. The findings support real-time, localized identification of burned areas after forest fires, providing actionable insights for prioritizing recovery areas and guiding ecological restoration and land rehabilitation strategies.