scholarly journals Estimating Forest Structural Parameters Using Canopy Metrics Derived from Airborne LiDAR Data in Subtropical Forests

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 940 ◽  
Author(s):  
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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.


2016 ◽  
Vol 178 ◽  
pp. 158-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Cao ◽  
Nicholas C. Coops ◽  
John L. Innes ◽  
Stephen R.J. Sheppard ◽  
Liyong Fu ◽  
...  

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.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wuming Zhang ◽  
Shangshu Cai ◽  
Xinlian Liang ◽  
Jie Shao ◽  
Ronghai Hu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The universal occurrence of randomly distributed dark holes (i.e., data pits appearing within the tree crown) in LiDAR-derived canopy height models (CHMs) negatively affects the accuracy of extracted forest inventory parameters. Methods We develop an algorithm based on cloth simulation for constructing a pit-free CHM. Results The proposed algorithm effectively fills data pits of various sizes whilst preserving canopy details. Our pit-free CHMs derived from point clouds at different proportions of data pits are remarkably better than those constructed using other algorithms, as evidenced by the lowest average root mean square error (0.4981 m) between the reference CHMs and the constructed pit-free CHMs. Moreover, our pit-free CHMs show the best performance overall in terms of maximum tree height estimation (average bias = 0.9674 m). Conclusion The proposed algorithm can be adopted when working with different quality LiDAR data and shows high potential in forestry applications.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renato César dos Santos ◽  
Mauricio Galo ◽  
André Caceres Carrilho ◽  
Guilherme Gomes Pessoa

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 559
Author(s):  
Milto Miltiadou ◽  
Neill D. F. Campbell ◽  
Darren Cosker ◽  
Michael G. Grant

In this paper, we investigate the performance of six data structures for managing voxelised full-waveform airborne LiDAR data during 3D polygonal model creation. While full-waveform LiDAR data has been available for over a decade, extraction of peak points is the most widely used approach of interpreting them. The increased information stored within the waveform data makes interpretation and handling difficult. It is, therefore, important to research which data structures are more appropriate for storing and interpreting the data. In this paper, we investigate the performance of six data structures while voxelising and interpreting full-waveform LiDAR data for 3D polygonal model creation. The data structures are tested in terms of time efficiency and memory consumption during run-time and are the following: (1) 1D-Array that guarantees coherent memory allocation, (2) Voxel Hashing, which uses a hash table for storing the intensity values (3) Octree (4) Integral Volumes that allows finding the sum of any cuboid area in constant time, (5) Octree Max/Min, which is an upgraded octree and (6) Integral Octree, which is proposed here and it is an attempt to combine the benefits of octrees and Integral Volumes. In this paper, it is shown that Integral Volumes is the more time efficient data structure but it requires the most memory allocation. Furthermore, 1D-Array and Integral Volumes require the allocation of coherent space in memory including the empty voxels, while Voxel Hashing and the octree related data structures do not require to allocate memory for empty voxels. These data structures, therefore, and as shown in the test conducted, allocate less memory. To sum up, there is a need to investigate how the LiDAR data are stored in memory. Each tested data structure has different benefits and downsides; therefore, each application should be examined individually.


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