Generalised bottom-up pruning: A model level combination of decision trees

A generalisation of bottom-up pruning is proposed as a model level combination method for a decision tree ensemble. Bottom up pruning on a single tree involves choosing between a subtree rooted at a node, and a leaf, dependant on a pruning criterion. A natural extension to an ensemble of trees is to allow subtrees from other ensemble trees to be grafted onto a node in addition to the operations of pruning to a leaf and leaving the existing subtree intact. Suitable pruning criteria are proposed and tested for this multi-tree pruning context. Gains in both performance and in particular compactness over individually pruned trees are observed in tests performed on a number of datasets from the UCI database. The method is further illustrated on a churn prediction problem in the telecommunications domain. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.