scholarly journals Interpretation of Forest Resources at the Individual Tree Level in Japanese Conifer Plantations Using Airborne LiDAR Data

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Songqiu Deng ◽  
Masato Katoh
2017 ◽  
Vol 168 (3) ◽  
pp. 127-133
Author(s):  
Matthew Parkan

Airborne LiDAR data: relevance of visual interpretation for forestry Airborne LiDAR surveys are particularly well adapted to map, study and manage large forest extents. Products derived from this technology are increasingly used by managers to establish a general diagnosis of the condition of forests. Less common is the use of these products to conduct detailed analyses on small areas; for example creating detailed reference maps like inventories or timber marking to support field operations. In this context, the use of direct visual interpretation is interesting, because it is much easier to implement than automatic algorithms and allows a quick and reliable identification of zonal (e.g. forest edge, deciduous/persistent ratio), structural (stratification) and point (e.g. tree/stem position and height) features. This article examines three important points which determine the relevance of visual interpretation: acquisition parameters, interactive representation and identification of forest characteristics. It is shown that the use of thematic color maps within interactive 3D point cloud and/or cross-sections makes it possible to establish (for all strata) detailed and accurate maps of a parcel at the individual tree scale.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 571 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen ◽  
Xiang ◽  
Moriya

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.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Cao ◽  
Zhengnan Zhang ◽  
Ting Yun ◽  
Guibin Wang ◽  
Honghua Ruan ◽  
...  

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.


Author(s):  
M. R. Mohd Salleh ◽  
M. Z. Abdul Rahman ◽  
M. A. Abu Bakar ◽  
A. W. Rasib ◽  
H. Omar

This paper presents a framework to estimate aerodynamic roughness over specific height (<i>zo/H</i>) and zero plane displacement (<i>d/H</i>) over various landscapes in Kelantan State using airborne LiDAR data. The study begins with the filtering of airborne LiDAR, which produced ground and non-ground points. The ground points were used to generate digital terrain model (DTM) while the non-ground points were used for digital surface model (DSM) generation. Canopy height model (CHM) was generated by subtracting DTM from DSM. Individual trees in the study area were delineated by applying the Inverse Watershed segmentation method on the CHM. Forest structural parameters including tree height, height to crown base (HCB) and diameter at breast height (DBH) were estimated using existing allometric equations. The airborne LiDAR data was divided into smaller areas, which correspond to the size of the <i>zo/H</i> and <i>d/H</i> maps i.e. 50 m and 100 m. For each area individual tree were reconstructed based on the tree properties, which accounts overlapping between crowns and trunks. The individual tree models were used to estimate individual tree frontal area and the total frontal area over a specific ground surface. Finally, three roughness models were used to estimate <i>zo/H</i> and <i>d/H</i> for different wind directions, which were assumed from North/South and East/West directions. The results were shows good agreements with previous studies that based on the wind tunnel experiments.


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