Extract Valley or Ridge Networks from dtm — extract

This function extracts valley or ridge networks from a digital elevation model (dtm) using stream network analysis. It processes the dtm to identify valleys or ridges, calculates their lengths, and optionally smooths the resulting lines.

Usage

extract_networks(
  dtm,
  type = c("valley", "ridge"),
  metrics,
  output_folder = NULL,
  smooth_lines = TRUE,
  plot_result = FALSE,
  cleanup = TRUE
)

Arguments

dtm: A SpatRaster object (from terra package) representing the digital elevation model
type: Character. Type of network to extract: "valley" or "ridge". Default is "valley".
metrics: A list containing pre-calculated geomorphometric metrics from calc_geomorph_metrics(). This parameter is REQUIRED. For valleys: Must contain flow_pointer and streams For ridges: Must contain flow_pointer_inverted and streams_inverted
output_folder: Path to folder for temporary whitebox processing files. Defaults to a temporary directory.
smooth_lines: Logical. Should lines be smoothed using Chaikin's algorithm? Default is TRUE.
plot_result: Logical. Should the result be plotted? Default is FALSE.
cleanup: Logical. Should temporary files be removed after processing? Default is TRUE.

Value

An sf object containing valley or ridge line geometries with length attribute and preserved CRS

Examples

if (FALSE) { # \dontrun{
dtm <- rast("path/to/dtm.tif")

# Calculate metrics first (REQUIRED)
metrics <- calc_geomorph_metrics(dtm)

# Extract valleys
valleys <- extract_networks(dtm, type = "valley", metrics = metrics)

# Extract ridges
ridges <- extract_networks(dtm, type = "ridge", metrics = metrics)
} # }