Estimating forest biomass using small footprint LiDAR data: An individual tree-based approach that incorporates training data

2005 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 342-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary J. Bortolot ◽  
Randolph H. Wynne
Keyword(s):  
Forest Biomass ◽  
Training Data ◽  
Lidar Data ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Small Footprint

Estimation of biophysical characteristics for highly variable mixed-conifer stands using small-footprint lidar

2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 1129-1138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Rooker Jensen ◽  
Karen S Humes ◽  
Tamara Conner ◽  
Christopher J Williams ◽  
John DeGroot
Keyword(s):  
Regression Model ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Canopy Height ◽  
Training Data ◽  
Lidar Data ◽  
Mixed Conifer ◽  
Wood Volume ◽  
Small Footprint ◽  
Mean Square Errors ◽  
Single Regression

Although lidar data are widely available from commercial contractors, operational use in North America is still limited by both cost and the uncertainty of large-scale application and associated model accuracy issues. We analyzed whether small-footprint lidar data obtained from five noncontiguous geographic areas with varying species and structural composition, silvicultural practices, and topography could be used in a single regression model to produce accurate estimates of commonly obtained forest inventory attributes on the Nez Perce Reservation in northern Idaho, USA. Lidar-derived height metrics were used as predictor variables in a best-subset multiple linear regression procedure to determine whether a suite of stand inventory variables could be accurately estimated. Empirical relationships between lidar-derived height metrics and field-measured dependent variables were developed with training data and acceptable models validated with an independent subset. Models were then fit with all data, resulting in coefficients of determination and root mean square errors (respectively) for seven biophysical characteristics, including maximum canopy height (0.91, 3.03 m), mean canopy height (0.79, 2.64 m), quadratic mean DBH (0.61, 6.31 cm), total basal area (0.91, 2.99 m2/ha), ellipsoidal crown closure (0.80, 0.08%), total wood volume (0.93, 24.65 m3/ha), and large saw-wood volume (0.75, 28.76 m3/ha). Although these regression models cannot be generalized to other sites without additional testing, the results obtained in this study suggest that for these types of mixed-conifer forests, some biophysical characteristics can be adequately estimated using a single regression model over stands with highly variable structural characteristics and topography.

scholarly journals Integrated radar and lidar analysis reveals extensive loss of remaining intact forest on Sumatra 2007–2010

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (22) ◽  
pp. 6637-6653 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. B. Collins ◽  
E. T. A. Mitchard
Keyword(s):  
Average Rate ◽  
Forest Biomass ◽  
Forest Monitoring ◽  
Synthetic Aperture ◽  
Lidar Data ◽  
Above Ground Biomass ◽  
Swamp Forest ◽  
L Band ◽  
Field Plots ◽  
Change Map

Abstract. Forests with high above-ground biomass (AGB), including those growing on peat swamps, have historically not been thought suitable for biomass mapping and change detection using synthetic aperture radar (SAR). However, by integrating L-band (λ = 0.23 m) SAR from the ALOS and lidar from the ICESat Earth-Observing satellites with 56 field plots, we were able to create a forest biomass and change map for a 10.7 Mha section of eastern Sumatra that still contains high AGB peat swamp forest. Using a time series of SAR data we estimated changes in both forest area and AGB. We estimate that there was 274 ± 68 Tg AGB remaining in natural forest (≥ 20 m height) in the study area in 2007, with this stock reducing by approximately 11.4 % over the subsequent 3 years. A total of 137.4 kha of the study area was deforested between 2007 and 2010, an average rate of 3.8 % yr−1. The ability to attribute forest loss to different initial biomass values allows for far more effective monitoring and baseline modelling for avoided deforestation projects than traditional, optical-based remote sensing. Furthermore, given SAR's ability to penetrate the smoke and cloud which normally obscure land cover change in this region, SAR-based forest monitoring can be relied on to provide frequent imagery. This study demonstrates that, even at L-band, which typically saturates at medium biomass levels (ca. 150 Mg ha−1), in conjunction with lidar data, it is possible to make reliable estimates of not just the area but also the carbon emissions resulting from land use change.

Estimating plot-level tree height and volume of Eucalyptus grandis plantations using small-footprint, discrete return lidar data

2010 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 515-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.G. Tesfamichael ◽  
J.A.N. van Aardt ◽  
F. Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Eucalyptus Grandis ◽  
Tree Height ◽  
Mean Value ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Lidar Data ◽  
Maximum Height ◽  
Density Level ◽  
Local Maxima ◽  
Small Footprint

This study explores the utility of small-footprint, discrete return lidar data in deriving important forest structural attributes with the primary objective of estimating plot-level mean tree height, dominant height, and volume of Eucalyptus grandis plantations. The secondary objectives of the study were related to investigating the effect of lidar point densities (1 point/m2, 3 points/m2, and 5 points/m2) on height and volume estimates. Tree tops were located by applying local maxima (LM) filtering to canopy height surfaces created at each density level, followed by buffering using circular polygons. Maximum and mean height values of the original lidar points falling within each tree polygon were used to generate lidar mean and dominant heights. Lidar mean value was superior to the maximum lidar value approach in estimating mean plot height (R2∼0.95; RMSE∼7%), while the maximum height approach resulted in superior estimates for dominant plot height (R2 ∼0.95; RMSE∼5%). These observations were similar across all lidar point density levels. Plot-level volume was calculated using approaches based on lidar-derived height variables and stems per hectare, as well as stand age. The level of association between estimated and observed volume was relatively high (R2=0.82—0.94) with non-significant differences among estimates at high lidar point densities and field observation. Nearly all estimates, however, exhibited negative biases and RMSE ranging in the order of 20—43%. Overall, the results of the study demonstrate the potential of lidar-based approaches for forest structural assessment in commercial plantations, even though further research is required on improving stems per hectare (SPHA) estimation.

scholarly journals Estimation of Tree Height and Forest Biomass Using Airborne LiDAR Data: A Case Study of Londiani Forest Block in the Mau Complex, Kenya

2017 ◽  
Vol 07 (02) ◽  
pp. 255-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faith Kagwiria Mutwiri ◽  
Patroba Achola Odera ◽  
Mwangi James Kinyanjui
Keyword(s):  
Forest Biomass ◽  
Tree Height ◽  
Airborne Lidar ◽  
Lidar Data ◽  
Airborne Lidar Data

scholarly journals ASSESSING LIDAR TRAINING DATA QUANTITIES FOR CLASSIFICATION MODELS

2021 ◽  
Vol XLVI-4/W4-2021 ◽  
pp. 101-106
Author(s):  
O. Majgaonkar ◽  
K. Panchal ◽  
D. Laefer ◽  
M. Stanley ◽  
Y. Zaki
Keyword(s):  
Point Cloud ◽  
Classification Performance ◽  
Training Data ◽  
Lidar Data ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Classification Models ◽  
Fundamental Properties ◽  
Point Cloud Classification ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract. Classifying objects within aerial Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data is an essential task to which machine learning (ML) is applied increasingly. ML has been shown to be more effective on LiDAR than imagery for classification, but most efforts have focused on imagery because of the challenges presented by LiDAR data. LiDAR datasets are of higher dimensionality, discontinuous, heterogenous, spatially incomplete, and often scarce. As such, there has been little examination into the fundamental properties of the training data required for acceptable performance of classification models tailored for LiDAR data. The quantity of training data is one such crucial property, because training on different sizes of data provides insight into a model’s performance with differing data sets. This paper assesses the impact of training data size on the accuracy of PointNet, a widely used ML approach for point cloud classification. Subsets of ModelNet ranging from 40 to 9,843 objects were validated on a test set of 400 objects. Accuracy improved logarithmically; decelerating from 45 objects onwards, it slowed significantly at a training size of 2,000 objects, corresponding to 20,000,000 points. This work contributes to the theoretical foundation for development of LiDAR-focused models by establishing a learning curve, suggesting the minimum quantity of manually labelled data necessary for satisfactory classification performance and providing a path for further analysis of the effects of modifying training data characteristics.

Retrieving forest biomass through integration of CASI and LiDAR data

2008 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 1553-1577 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. M. Lucas ◽  
A. C. Lee ◽  
P. J. Bunting
Keyword(s):  
Forest Biomass ◽  
Lidar Data

scholarly journals Individual Tree Position Extraction and Structural Parameter Retrieval Based on Airborne LiDAR Data: Performance Evaluation and Comparison of Four Algorithms

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 571 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen ◽  
Xiang ◽  
Moriya
Keyword(s):  
Template Matching ◽  
Local Maximum ◽  
Airborne Lidar ◽  
Forest Monitoring ◽  
Lidar Data ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Matching Algorithm ◽  
Crown Width ◽  
Individual Trees ◽  
Airborne Lidar Data

Information for individual trees (e.g., position, treetop, height, crown width, and crown edge) is beneficial for forest monitoring and management. Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data have been widely used to retrieve these individual tree parameters from different algorithms, with varying successes. In this study, we used an iterative Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN) algorithm to separate ground and canopy points in airborne LiDAR data, and generated Digital Elevation Models (DEM) by Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) interpolation, thin spline interpolation, and trend surface interpolation, as well as by using the Kriging algorithm. The height of the point cloud was assigned to a Digital Surface Model (DSM), and a Canopy Height Model (CHM) was acquired. Then, four algorithms (point-cloud-based local maximum algorithm, CHM-based local maximum algorithm, watershed algorithm, and template-matching algorithm) were comparatively used to extract the structural parameters of individual trees. The results indicated that the two local maximum algorithms can effectively detect the treetop; the watershed algorithm can accurately extract individual tree height and determine the tree crown edge; and the template-matching algorithm works well to extract accurate crown width. This study provides a reference for the selection of algorithms in individual tree parameter inversion based on airborne LiDAR data and is of great significance for LiDAR-based forest monitoring and management.

scholarly journals A Weighted SVM-Based Approach to Tree Species Classification at Individual Tree Crown Level Using LiDAR Data

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (24) ◽  
pp. 2948 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hoang Minh Nguyen ◽  
Begüm Demir ◽  
Michele Dalponte
Keyword(s):  
Tree Species ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Classification Problem ◽  
Learning Phase ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Lidar Data ◽  
Species Classification ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Tree Species Classification ◽  
Training Samples

Tree species classification at individual tree crowns (ITCs) level, using remote-sensing data, requires the availability of a sufficient number of reliable reference samples (i.e., training samples) to be used in the learning phase of the classifier. The classification performance of the tree species is mainly affected by two main issues: (i) an imbalanced distribution of the tree species classes, and (ii) the presence of unreliable samples due to field collection errors, coordinate misalignments, and ITCs delineation errors. To address these problems, in this paper, we present a weighted Support Vector Machine (wSVM)-based approach for the detection of tree species at ITC level. The proposed approach initially extracts (i) different weights associated to different classes of tree species, to mitigate the effect of the imbalanced distribution of the classes; and (ii) different weights associated to different training samples according to their importance for the classification problem, to reduce the effect of unreliable samples. Then, in order to exploit different weights in the learning phase of the classifier a wSVM algorithm is used. The features to characterize the tree species at ITC level are extracted from both the elevation and intensity of airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data. Experimental results obtained on two study areas located in the Italian Alps show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

scholarly journals Estimating Tree Volume Distributions in Subtropical Forests Using Airborne LiDAR Data

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Cao ◽  
Zhengnan Zhang ◽  
Ting Yun ◽  
Guibin Wang ◽  
Honghua Ruan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Airborne Lidar ◽  
Lidar Data ◽  
Stem Density ◽  
Shape Parameters ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Subtropical Forests ◽  
Weibull Parameters ◽  
Error Index ◽  
Airborne Lidar Data ◽  
Parameter Prediction

Accurate and reliable information on tree volume distributions, which describe tree frequencies in volume classes, plays a key role in guiding timber harvest, managing carbon budgets, and supplying ecosystem services. Airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) has the capability of offering reliable estimates of the distributions of structure attributes in forests. In this study, we predicted individual tree volume distributions over a subtropical forest of southeast China using airborne LiDAR data and field measurements. We first estimated the plot-level total volume by LiDAR-derived standard and canopy metrics. Then the performances of three Weibull parameter prediction methods, i.e., parameter prediction method (PPM), percentile-based parameter recover method (PPRM), and moment-based parameter recover method (MPRM) were assessed to estimate the Weibull scale and shape parameters. Stem density for each plot was calculated by dividing the estimated plot total volume using mean tree volume (i.e., mean value of distributions) derived from the LiDAR-estimated Weibull parameters. Finally, the individual tree volume distributions were generated by the predicted scale and shape parameters, and then scaled by the predicted stem density. The results demonstrated that, compared with the general models, the forest type-specific (i.e., coniferous forests, broadleaved forests, and mixed forests) models had relatively higher accuracies for estimating total volume and stem density, as well as predicting Weibull parameters, percentiles, and raw moments. The relationship between the predicted and reference volume distributions showed a relatively high agreement when the predicted frequencies were scaled to the LiDAR-predicted stem density (mean Reynolds error index eR = 31.47–54.07, mean Packalén error index eP = 0.14–0.21). In addition, the predicted individual tree volume distributions predicted by PPRM of (average mean eR = 37.75) performed the best, followed by MPRM (average mean eR = 40.43) and PPM (average mean eR = 41.22). This study demonstrated that the LiDAR can potentially offer improved estimates of the distributions of tree volume in subtropical forests.

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