CGT-YOLOv5n: A Precision Model for Detecting Mouse Holes Amid Complex Grassland Terrains

This study employs unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to detect mouse holes in grasslands, offering an effective tool for grassland ecological conservation. We introduce the specially designed CGT-YOLOv5n model, addressing long-standing challenges UAVs face, particularly the decreased detection accuracy in complex grassland environments due to shadows and obstructions. The model incorporates a Context Augmentation Module (CAM) focused on improving the detection of small mouse holes and mitigating the interference of shadows. Additionally, to enhance the model’s ability to recognize mouse holes of varied morphologies, we have integrated an omni-dimensional dynamic convolution (ODConv), thereby increasing the model’s adaptability to diverse image features. Furthermore, the model includes a Task-Specific Context Decoupling (TSCODE) module, independently refining the contextual semantics and spatial details for classification and regression tasks and significantly improving the detection accuracy. The empirical results show that when the intersection over union (IoU) threshold is set at 0.5, the model’s mean average precision (mAP_0.5) for detection accuracy reaches 92.8%. The mean average precision (mAP_0.5:0.95), calculated over different IoU thresholds ranging from 0.5 to 0.95 in increments of 0.05, is 46.2%. These represent improvements of 3.3% and 4.3%, respectively, compared to the original model. Thus, this model contributes significantly to grassland ecological conservation and provides an effective tool for grassland management and mouse pest control in pastoral areas.