A two-phase inventory method for calculating standing volume and tree-density of forest stands in central Poland based on airborne laser-scanning data

Abstract This paper describes a method of determining the stocking density and volume of forest stands based on airborne laser-scanning data. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between ground-based measurements of standing volume and tree-density, and those acquired based on the Crown Height Model (CHM) interpolated from airborne laser scanning data. Data were collected from 34 sample plots of two sizes for the CHM analysis: 500 m2 (radius 12.61 m) and 1963.5 m2 (radius of 25.0 m): Trees for sampling were selected using two methods, those whose “centroid” was fully within the sample plot (the tree was considered to be within the sample plots if the centroid of the crown was inside the circle) and those at the “border” (the tree was included in the sample plot if, at least, one part of the contour of the crown was inside the circle). There was a strong relationship (R2 = 0.86) between standing volume measured in sample plots on the ground and the indices produced by the crown elevation model at the locations where the ground-based measurements were performed.

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Digital elevation model created by airborne laser scanning in the field of mines areas

Uranium, Mining and Hydrogeology ◽

10.1007/978-3-540-87746-2_119 ◽

2008 ◽

pp. 915-916

Author(s):

Sven Jany

Keyword(s):

Digital Elevation Model ◽

Laser Scanning ◽

Airborne Laser Scanning ◽

Airborne Laser ◽

Digital Elevation ◽

Elevation Model

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Using Leaf-Off and Leaf-On Multispectral Airborne Laser Scanning Data to Characterize Seedling Stands

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs12203328 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (20) ◽

pp. 3328

Author(s):

Mohammad Imangholiloo ◽

Ninni Saarinen ◽

Markus Holopainen ◽

Xiaowei Yu ◽

Juha Hyyppä ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tree Species ◽

Laser Scanning ◽

Sustainable Forest Management ◽

Single Channel ◽

Point Clouds ◽

Tree Density ◽

Airborne Laser Scanning ◽

Tree Species Composition ◽

Coniferous Trees ◽

Airborne Laser

Information from seedling stands in time and space is essential for sustainable forest management. To fulfil these informational needs with limited resources, remote sensing is seen as an intriguing alternative for forest inventorying. The structure and tree species composition in seedling stands have created challenges for capturing this information using sensors providing sparse point densities that do not have the ability to penetrate canopy gaps or provide spectral information. Therefore, multispectral airborne laser scanning (mALS) systems providing dense point clouds coupled with multispectral intensity data theoretically offer advantages for the characterization of seedling stands. The aim of this study was to investigate the capability of Optech Titan mALS data to characterize seedling stands in leaf-off and leaf-on conditions, as well as to retrieve the most important forest inventory attributes, such as distinguishing deciduous from coniferous trees, and estimating tree density and height. First, single-tree detection approaches were used to derive crown boundaries and tree heights from which forest structural attributes were aggregated for sample plots. To predict tree species, a random forests classifier was trained using features from two single-channel intensities (SCIs) with wavelengths of 1550 (SCI-Ch1) and 1064 nm (SCI-Ch2), and multichannel intensity (MCI) data composed of three mALS channels. The most important and uncorrelated features were analyzed and selected from 208 features. The highest overall accuracies in classification of Norway spruce, birch, and nontree class in leaf-off and leaf-on conditions obtained using SCI-Ch1 and SCI-Ch2 were 87.36% and 69.47%, respectively. The use of MCI data improved classification by up to 96.55% and 92.54% in leaf-off and leaf-on conditions, respectively. Overall, leaf-off data were favorable for distinguishing deciduous from coniferous trees and tree density estimation with a relative root mean square error (RMSE) of 37.9%, whereas leaf-on data provided more accurate height estimations, with a relative RMSE of 10.76%. Determining the canopy threshold for separating ground returns from vegetation returns was found to be critical, as mapped trees might have a height below one meter. The results showed that mALS data provided benefits for characterizing seedling stands compared to single-channel ALS systems.

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Estimation of Total Biomass in Aleppo Pine Forest Stands Applying Parametric and Nonparametric Methods to Low-Density Airborne Laser Scanning Data

Forests ◽

10.3390/f9040158 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 158 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Darío Domingo ◽

María Lamelas ◽

Antonio Montealegre ◽

Alberto García-Martín ◽

Juan de la Riva

Keyword(s):

Laser Scanning ◽

Nonparametric Methods ◽

Pine Forest ◽

Airborne Laser Scanning ◽

Aleppo Pine ◽

Total Biomass ◽

Low Density ◽

Forest Stands ◽

Airborne Laser

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Estimating field-plot data of forest stands using airborne laser scanning and SPOT HRG data

Remote Sensing of Environment ◽

10.1016/j.rse.2007.02.028 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 110 (4) ◽

pp. 501-508 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

J WALLERMAN ◽

J HOLMGREN

Keyword(s):

Laser Scanning ◽

Airborne Laser Scanning ◽

Forest Stands ◽

Field Plot ◽

Airborne Laser

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Estimation of forest parameters using airborne laser scanning data

Geoscientific Instrumentation Methods and Data Systems Discussions ◽

10.5194/gid-5-549-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 549-576

Author(s):

J. Cohen

Keyword(s):

Laser Scanning ◽

Tree Height ◽

National Forest Inventory ◽

Airborne Laser Scanning ◽

Forest Mapping ◽

Airborne Laser ◽

Forest Region ◽

Digital Elevation ◽

Industry Applications ◽

Elevation Model

Abstract. Methods for the estimation of forest characteristics by airborne laser scanning (ALS) data have been introduced by several authors. Tree height (TH) and canopy closure (CC) describing the forest properties can be used in forest, construction and industry applications, as well as research and decision making. The National Land Survey has been collecting ALS data from Finland since 2008 to generate a nationwide high resolution digital elevation model. Although this data has been collected in leaf-off conditions, it still has the potential to be utilized in forest mapping. A method where this data is used for the estimation of CC and TH in the boreal forest region is presented in this paper. Evaluation was conducted in eight test areas across Finland by comparing the results with corresponding Multi-Source National Forest Inventory (MS-NFI) datasets. The ALS based CC and TH maps were generally in a good agreement with the MS-NFI data. As expected, deciduous forests caused some underestimation in CC and TH, but the effect was not major in any of the test areas. The processing chain has been fully automated enabling fast generation of forest maps for different areas.

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