Improving the correlation hunting in a large quantity of SOM component planes classification of agro-ecological variables related with productivity in the sugar cane culture

Abstract

A technique called component planes is commonly used to visualize variables behavior with Self-Organizing Maps (SOMs). Nevertheless, when the component planes are too many the visualization becomes difficult. A methodology has been developed to enhance the component planes analysis process. This methodology improves the correlation hunting in the component planes with a tree-structured cluster representation based on the SOM distance matrix. The methodology presented here was used in the classification of similar agro-ecological variables and productivity in the sugar cane culture. Analyzing the obtained groups it was possible to extract new knowledge about the variables more related with the highest productivities. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007.