Applications of LiDAR and Photogrammetry for Forest Inventory and Management

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Inventory, Modeling and Remote Sensing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 July 2019) | Viewed by 52219

Special Issue Editors

1. Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
2. School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
Interests: LiDAR and hyperspectral remote sensing; tropical forest structure and ecology; industrial forest plantations; algorithms and tools development; data integration and change detection
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Federal University of São João Del Rei – UFSJ, Sete Lagoas, MG 35701-970, Brazil
Interests: forests and non-timber forest products; tropical forest ecology; remote sensing; LiDAR, forest inventory; wildfire, forest inventory; data integration; change detection; fire ecology and fire behavior modeling
School of Forestry, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
Interests: urban forestry; LiDAR; satellite imagery; aerial photography data; land use; land cover
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor LL57 2PZ, UK
Interests: forest ecology; remote sensing; LiDAR; forest inventory; tree size scaling theories; forest structure; competition and dominance; modelling; data fusion
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Accurate and spatially explicit measurements of forest attributes are required in order to effectively protect, monitor, and manage forest ecosystems. LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) remote sensing has emerged as a technology that is well-suited for providing accurate estimates of forest attributes in a wide variety of forest ecosystems (natural forests, planted forests, and urban forests) at a variety of spatial scales. An enhanced understanding of a forest structure via LiDAR remote sensing can be gained through improved tools and optimized frameworks for data processing. The development of advanced tools and methods for 3D forest characterization and mapping from LiDAR remote sensing can facilitate the operationalization of LiDAR in a forest inventory, and therefore might improve the efficiency of various forest management activities.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to bring together state-of-the-art LiDAR and photogrammetry applications for both forest inventory and management in forest ecosystems. Review papers and research contributions are suitable. In particular, contributions covering the following sub-topics are welcome:

  • Individual tree segmentation and crown attribute estimation using LiDAR and photogrammetry data;
  • Machine learning or deep learning approaches for estimating forest structure attributes from LiDAR and photogrammetry data;
  • Fusion of LiDAR and optical remote sensing data for forest inventory and mapping;
  • Synergies among platforms (airborne, terrestrial, and spaceborne) for forest inventory and monitoring;
  • Advancements in tools and algorithms for photogrammetric restitution and LiDAR data processing and forest inventory.

Dr. Carlos Alberto Silva
Prof. Dr. Carine Klauberg
Dr. Justin Morgenroth
Dr. Ruben Valbuena
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • LiDAR systems
  • forest structure assessment
  • operational forest inventory
  • algorithms and tools
  • forest dynamics
  • data fusion
  • forest mensuration
  • forest monitoring

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 3462 KiB  
Article
Predicting Growing Stock Volume of Eucalyptus Plantations Using 3-D Point Clouds Derived from UAV Imagery and ALS Data
by Juan Guerra-Hernández, Diogo N. Cosenza, Adrian Cardil, Carlos Alberto Silva, Brigite Botequim, Paula Soares, Margarida Silva, Eduardo González-Ferreiro and Ramón A. Díaz-Varela
Forests 2019, 10(10), 905; https://doi.org/10.3390/f10100905 - 15 Oct 2019
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4043
Abstract
Estimating forest inventory variables is important in monitoring forest resources and mitigating climate change. In this respect, forest managers require flexible, non-destructive methods for estimating volume and biomass. High-resolution and low-cost remote sensing data are increasingly available to measure three-dimensional (3D) canopy structure [...] Read more.
Estimating forest inventory variables is important in monitoring forest resources and mitigating climate change. In this respect, forest managers require flexible, non-destructive methods for estimating volume and biomass. High-resolution and low-cost remote sensing data are increasingly available to measure three-dimensional (3D) canopy structure and to model forest structural attributes. The main objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the individual tree volume estimates derived from high-density point clouds obtained from airborne laser scanning (ALS) and digital aerial photogrammetry (DAP) in Eucalyptus spp. plantations. Object-based image analysis (OBIA) techniques were applied for individual tree crown (ITC) delineation. The ITC algorithm applied correctly detected and delineated 199 trees from ALS-derived data, while 192 trees were correctly identified using DAP-based point clouds acquired from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), representing accuracy levels of respectively 62% and 60%. Addressing volume modelling, non-linear regression fit based on individual tree height and individual crown area derived from the ITC provided the following results: Model Efficiency (Mef) = 0.43 and 0.46, Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) = 0.030 m3 and 0.026 m3, rRMSE = 20.31% and 19.97%, and an approximately unbiased results (0.025 m3 and 0.0004 m3) using DAP and ALS-based estimations, respectively. No significant difference was found between the observed value (field data) and volume estimation from ALS and DAP (p-value from t-test statistic = 0.99 and 0.98, respectively). The proposed approaches could also be used to estimate basal area or biomass stocks in Eucalyptus spp. plantations. Full article
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19 pages, 8485 KiB  
Article
Combination of Multi-Temporal Sentinel 2 Images and Aerial Image Based Canopy Height Models for Timber Volume Modelling
by Johannes Schumacher, Margret Rattay, Melanie Kirchhöfer, Petra Adler and Gerald Kändler
Forests 2019, 10(9), 746; https://doi.org/10.3390/f10090746 - 30 Aug 2019
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3579
Abstract
Multi-temporal Sentinel 2 optical images and 3D photogrammetric point clouds can be combined to enhance the accuracy of timber volume models on large spatial scale. Information on the proportion of broadleaf and conifer trees improves timber volume models obtained from 3D photogrammetric point [...] Read more.
Multi-temporal Sentinel 2 optical images and 3D photogrammetric point clouds can be combined to enhance the accuracy of timber volume models on large spatial scale. Information on the proportion of broadleaf and conifer trees improves timber volume models obtained from 3D photogrammetric point clouds. However, the broadleaf-conifer information cannot be obtained from photogrammetric point clouds alone. Furthermore, spectral information of aerial images is too inconsistent to be used for automatic broadleaf-conifer classification over larger areas. In this study we combined multi-temporal Sentinel 2 optical satellite images, 3D photogrammetric point clouds from digital aerial stereo photographs, and forest inventory plots representing an area of 35,751 km2 in south-west Germany for (1) modelling the percentage of broadleaf tree volume (BL%) using Sentinel 2 time series and (2) modelling timber volume per hectare using 3D photogrammetric point clouds. Forest inventory plots were surveyed in the same years and regions as stereo photographs were acquired (2013–2017), resulting in 11,554 plots. Sentinel 2 images from 2016 and 2017 were corrected for topographic and atmospheric influences and combined with the same forest inventory plots. Spectral variables from corrected multi-temporal Sentinel 2 images were calculated, and Support Vector Machine (SVM) regressions were fitted for each Sentinel 2 scene estimating the BL% for corresponding inventory plots. Variables from the photogrammetric point clouds were calculated for each inventory plot and a non-linear regression model predicting timber volume per hectare was fitted. Each SVM regression and the timber volume model were evaluated using ten-fold cross-validation (CV). The SVM regression models estimating the BL% per Sentinel 2 scene achieved overall accuracies of 68%–75% and a Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) of 21.5–26.1. The timber volume model showed a RMSE% of 31.7%, a mean bias of 0.2%, and a pseudo-R2 of 0.64. Application of the SVM regressions on Sentinel 2 scenes covering the state of Baden-Württemberg resulted in predictions of broadleaf tree percentages for the entire state. These predicted values were used as additional predictor in the timber volume model, allowing for predictions of timber volume for the same area. Spatially high-resolution information about growing stock is of great practical relevance for forest management planning, especially when the timber volume of a smaller unit is of interest, for example of a forest stand or a forest district where not enough terrestrial inventory plots are available to make reliable estimations. Here, predictions from remote-sensing based models can be used. Furthermore, information about broadleaf and conifer trees improves timber volume models and reduces model errors and, thereby, prediction uncertainties. Full article
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16 pages, 4054 KiB  
Article
Mobile Terrestrial Photogrammetry for Street Tree Mapping and Measurements
by John Roberts, Andrew Koeser, Amr Abd-Elrahman, Benjamin Wilkinson, Gail Hansen, Shawn Landry and Ali Perez
Forests 2019, 10(8), 701; https://doi.org/10.3390/f10080701 - 19 Aug 2019
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 4523
Abstract
Urban forests are often heavily populated by street trees along right-of-ways (ROW), and monitoring efforts can enhance municipal tree management. Terrestrial photogrammetric techniques have been used to measure tree biometry, but have typically used images from various angles around individual trees or forest [...] Read more.
Urban forests are often heavily populated by street trees along right-of-ways (ROW), and monitoring efforts can enhance municipal tree management. Terrestrial photogrammetric techniques have been used to measure tree biometry, but have typically used images from various angles around individual trees or forest plots to capture the entire stem while also utilizing local coordinate systems (i.e., non-georeferenced data). We proposed the mobile collection of georeferenced imagery along 100 m sections of urban roadway to create photogrammetric point cloud datasets suitable for measuring stem diameters and attaining positional x and y coordinates of street trees. In a comparison between stationary and mobile photogrammetry, diameter measurements of urban street trees (N = 88) showed a slightly lower error (RMSE = 8.02%) relative to non-mobile stem measurements (RMSE = 10.37%). Tree Y-coordinates throughout urban sites for mobile photogrammetric data showed a lower standard deviation of 1.70 m relative to 2.38 m for a handheld GPS, which was similar for X-coordinates where photogrammetry and handheld GPS coordinates showed standard deviations of 1.59 m and the handheld GPS 2.36 m, respectively—suggesting higher precision for the mobile photogrammetric models. The mobile photogrammetric system used in this study to create georeferenced models for measuring stem diameters and mapping tree positions can also be potentially expanded for more wide-scale applications related to tree inventory and monitoring of roadside infrastructure. Full article
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14 pages, 1974 KiB  
Article
Measuring Tree Height with Remote Sensing—A Comparison of Photogrammetric and LiDAR Data with Different Field Measurements
by Selina Ganz, Yannek Käber and Petra Adler
Forests 2019, 10(8), 694; https://doi.org/10.3390/f10080694 - 16 Aug 2019
Cited by 76 | Viewed by 9544
Abstract
We contribute to a better understanding of different remote sensing techniques for tree height estimation by comparing several techniques to both direct and indirect field measurements. From these comparisons, factors influencing the accuracy of reliable tree height measurements were identified. Different remote sensing [...] Read more.
We contribute to a better understanding of different remote sensing techniques for tree height estimation by comparing several techniques to both direct and indirect field measurements. From these comparisons, factors influencing the accuracy of reliable tree height measurements were identified. Different remote sensing methods were applied on the same test site, varying the factors sensor type, platform, and flight parameters. We implemented light detection and ranging (LiDAR) and photogrammetric aerial images received from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), gyrocopter, and aircraft. Field measurements were carried out indirectly using a Vertex clinometer and directly after felling using a tape measure on tree trunks. Indirect measurements resulted in an RMSE of 1.02 m and tend to underestimate tree height with a systematic error of −0.66 m. For the derivation of tree height, the results varied from an RMSE of 0.36 m for UAV-LiDAR data to 2.89 m for photogrammetric data acquired by an aircraft. Measurements derived from LiDAR data resulted in higher tree heights, while measurements from photogrammetric data tended to be lower than field measurements. When absolute orientation was appropriate, measurements from UAV-Camera were as reliable as those from UAV-LiDAR. With low flight altitudes, small camera lens angles, and an accurate orientation, higher accuracies for the estimation of individual tree heights could be achieved. The study showed that remote sensing measurements of tree height can be more accurate than traditional triangulation techniques if the aforementioned conditions are fulfilled. Full article
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19 pages, 2323 KiB  
Article
Comparison of Three Algorithms to Estimate Tree Stem Diameter from Terrestrial Laser Scanner Data
by Joris Ravaglia, Richard A. Fournier, Alexandra Bac, Cédric Véga, Jean-François Côté, Alexandre Piboule and Ulysse Rémillard
Forests 2019, 10(7), 599; https://doi.org/10.3390/f10070599 - 18 Jul 2019
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 4725
Abstract
Terrestrial laser scanners provide accurate and detailed point clouds of forest plots, which can be used as an alternative to destructive measurements during forest inventories. Various specialized algorithms have been developed to provide automatic and objective estimates of forest attributes from point clouds. [...] Read more.
Terrestrial laser scanners provide accurate and detailed point clouds of forest plots, which can be used as an alternative to destructive measurements during forest inventories. Various specialized algorithms have been developed to provide automatic and objective estimates of forest attributes from point clouds. The STEP (Snakes for Tuboid Extraction from Point cloud) algorithm was developed to estimate both stem diameter at breast height and stem diameters along the bole length. Here, we evaluate the accuracy of this algorithm and compare its performance with two other state-of-the-art algorithms that were designed for the same purpose (i.e., the CompuTree and SimpleTree algorithms). We tested each algorithm against point clouds that incorporated various degrees of noise and occlusion. We applied these algorithms to three contrasting test sites: (1) simulated scenes of coniferous stands in Newfoundland (Canada), (2) test sites of deciduous stands in Phalsbourg (France), and (3) coniferous plantations in Quebec, Canada. In most cases, the STEP algorithm predicted diameter at breast height with higher R2 and lower RMSE than the other two algorithms. The STEP algorithm also achieved greater accuracy when estimating stem diameter in occluded and noisy point clouds, with mean errors in the range of 1.1 cm to 2.28 cm. The CompuTree and SimpleTree algorithms respectively produced errors in the range of 2.62 cm to 6.1 cm and 1.03 cm to 3.34 cm, respectively. Unlike CompuTree or SimpleTree, the STEP algorithm was not able to estimate trunk diameter in the uppermost portions of the trees. Our results show that the STEP algorithm is more adapted to extract DBH and stem diameter automatically from occluded and noisy point clouds. Our study also highlights that SimpleTree and CompuTree require data filtering and results corrections. Conversely, none of these procedures were applied for the implementation of the STEP algorithm. Full article
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18 pages, 8341 KiB  
Article
Forest Type Classification Based on Integrated Spectral-Spatial-Temporal Features and Random Forest Algorithm—A Case Study in the Qinling Mountains
by Kai Cheng and Juanle Wang
Forests 2019, 10(7), 559; https://doi.org/10.3390/f10070559 - 04 Jul 2019
Cited by 34 | Viewed by 4990
Abstract
Spectral, spatial, and temporal features play important roles in land cover classification. However, limitations still exist in the integrated application of spectral-spatial-temporal (SST) features for forest type discrimination. This paper proposes a forest type classification framework based on SST features and the random [...] Read more.
Spectral, spatial, and temporal features play important roles in land cover classification. However, limitations still exist in the integrated application of spectral-spatial-temporal (SST) features for forest type discrimination. This paper proposes a forest type classification framework based on SST features and the random forest (RF) algorithm. The SST features were derived from time-series images using original bands, vegetation index, gray-level correlation matrix, and harmonic analysis. Random forest-recursive feature elimination (RF-RFE) was used to optimize high-dimensional and correlated feature space, and determine the optimal SST feature set. Then, the classification was carried out using an RF classifier and the optimized SST feature set. This method was applied in the Qinling Mountains using Sentinel-2 time-series images. A total of 21 SST features were obtained through the RF-RFE method, and their importance was evaluated using the Gini index. The results indicated that spectral features contribute the most to separating shrubs, spatial features are more suitable for discrimination among evergreen forest types, and temporal features are more useful for evergreen forest, deciduous forest, and shrub types. The forest type map was generated based on the optimal SST feature set and RF algorithm, and evaluated based on an agreement with the validation dataset. The results showed that this integrated method is reliable, with an overall accuracy of 86.88% and kappa coefficient of 0.86, and can support forest type sustainable management and mapping at the local scale. Full article
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22 pages, 5180 KiB  
Article
Large Area Forest Yield Estimation with Pushbroom Digital Aerial Photogrammetry
by Jacob Strunk, Petteri Packalen, Peter Gould, Demetrios Gatziolis, Caleb Maki, Hans-Erik Andersen and Robert J. McGaughey
Forests 2019, 10(5), 397; https://doi.org/10.3390/f10050397 - 07 May 2019
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2993
Abstract
Low-cost methods to measure forest structure are needed to consistently and repeatedly inventory forest conditions over large areas. In this study we investigate low-cost pushbroom Digital Aerial Photography (DAP) to aid in the estimation of forest volume over large areas in Washington State [...] Read more.
Low-cost methods to measure forest structure are needed to consistently and repeatedly inventory forest conditions over large areas. In this study we investigate low-cost pushbroom Digital Aerial Photography (DAP) to aid in the estimation of forest volume over large areas in Washington State (USA). We also examine the effects of plot location precision (low versus high) and Digital Terrain Model (DTM) resolution (1 m versus 10 m) on estimation performance. Estimation with DAP and post-stratification with high-precision plot locations and a 1 m DTM was 4 times as efficient (precision per number of plots) as estimation without remote sensing and 3 times as efficient when using low-precision plot locations and a 10 m DTM. These findings can contribute significantly to efforts to consistently estimate and map forest yield across entire states (or equivalent) or even nations. The broad-scale, high-resolution, and high-precision information provided by pushbroom DAP facilitates used by a wide variety of user types such a towns and cities, small private timber owners, fire prevention groups, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), counties, and state and federal organizations. Full article
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14 pages, 3947 KiB  
Article
Assessing the Ability of Image Based Point Clouds Captured from a UAV to Measure the Terrain in the Presence of Canopy Cover
by Luke Wallace, Chris Bellman, Bryan Hally, Jaime Hernandez, Simon Jones and Samuel Hillman
Forests 2019, 10(3), 284; https://doi.org/10.3390/f10030284 - 22 Mar 2019
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 3385
Abstract
Point clouds captured from Unmanned Aerial Systems are increasingly relied upon to provide information describing the structure of forests. The quality of the information derived from these point clouds is dependent on a range of variables, including the type and structure of the [...] Read more.
Point clouds captured from Unmanned Aerial Systems are increasingly relied upon to provide information describing the structure of forests. The quality of the information derived from these point clouds is dependent on a range of variables, including the type and structure of the forest, weather conditions and flying parameters. A key requirement to achieve accurate estimates of height based metrics describing forest structure is a source of ground information. This study explores the availability and reliability of ground surface points available within point clouds captured in six forests of different structure (canopy cover and height), using three image capture and processing strategies, consisting of nadir, oblique and composite nadir/oblique image networks. The ground information was extracted through manual segmentation of the point clouds as well as through the use of two commonly used ground filters, LAStools lasground and the Cloth Simulation Filter. The outcomes of these strategies were assessed against ground control captured with a Total Station. Results indicate that a small increase in the number of ground points captured (between 0 and 5% of a 10 m radius plot) can be achieved through the use of a composite image network. In the case of manually identified ground points, this reduced the root mean square error (RMSE) error of the terrain model by between 1 and 11 cm, with greater reductions seen in plots with high canopy cover. The ground filters trialled were not able to exploit the extra information in the point clouds and inconsistent results in terrain RMSE were obtained across the various plots and imaging network configurations. The use of a composite network also provided greater penetration into the canopy, which is likely to improve the representation of mid-canopy elements. Full article
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21 pages, 3266 KiB  
Article
Modelling and Predicting the Growing Stock Volume in Small-Scale Plantation Forests of Tanzania Using Multi-Sensor Image Synergy
by Ernest William Mauya, Joni Koskinen, Katri Tegel, Jarno Hämäläinen, Tuomo Kauranne and Niina Käyhkö
Forests 2019, 10(3), 279; https://doi.org/10.3390/f10030279 - 21 Mar 2019
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 3837
Abstract
Remotely sensed assisted forest inventory has emerged in the past decade as a robust and cost efficient method for generating accurate information on forest biophysical parameters. The launching and public access of ALOS PALSAR-2, Sentinel-1 (SAR), and Sentinel-2 together with the associated open-source [...] Read more.
Remotely sensed assisted forest inventory has emerged in the past decade as a robust and cost efficient method for generating accurate information on forest biophysical parameters. The launching and public access of ALOS PALSAR-2, Sentinel-1 (SAR), and Sentinel-2 together with the associated open-source software, has further increased the opportunity for application of remotely sensed data in forest inventories. In this study, we evaluated the ability of ALOS PALSAR-2, Sentinel-1 (SAR) and Sentinel-2 and their combinations to predict growing stock volume in small-scale forest plantations of Tanzania. The effects of two variable extraction approaches (i.e., centroid and weighted mean), seasonality (i.e., rainy and dry), and tree species on the prediction accuracy of growing stock volume when using each of the three remotely sensed data were also investigated. Statistical models relating growing stock volume and remotely sensed predictor variables at the plot-level were fitted using multiple linear regression. The models were evaluated using the k-fold cross validation and judged based on the relative root mean square error values (RMSEr). The results showed that: Sentinel-2 (RMSEr = 42.03% and pseudo − R2 = 0.63) and the combination of Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 (RMSEr = 46.98% and pseudo − R2 = 0.52), had better performance in predicting growing stock volume, as compared to Sentinel-1 (RMSEr = 59.48% and pseudo − R2 = 0.18) alone. Models fitted with variables extracted from the weighted mean approach, turned out to have relatively lower RMSEr % values, as compared to centroid approaches. Sentinel-2 rainy season based models had slightly smaller RMSEr values, as compared to dry season based models. Dense time series (i.e., annual) data resulted to the models with relatively lower RMSEr values, as compared to seasonal based models when using variables extracted from the weighted mean approach. For the centroid approach there was no notable difference between the models fitted using dense time series versus rain season based predictor variables. Stratifications based on tree species resulted into lower RMSEr values for Pinus patula tree species, as compared to other tree species. Finally, our study concluded that combination of Sentinel-1&2 as well as the use Sentinel-2 alone can be considered for remote-sensing assisted forest inventory in the small-scale plantation forests of Tanzania. Further studies on the effect of field plot size, stratification and statistical methods on the prediction accuracy are recommended. Full article
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13 pages, 5985 KiB  
Article
Influence of Scan Density on the Estimation of Single-Tree Attributes by Hand-Held Mobile Laser Scanning
by Barbara Del Perugia, Francesca Giannetti, Gherardo Chirici and Davide Travaglini
Forests 2019, 10(3), 277; https://doi.org/10.3390/f10030277 - 21 Mar 2019
Cited by 50 | Viewed by 5008
Abstract
Nowadays, forest inventories are frequently carried out using a combination of field measurements and remote sensing data, often acquired with light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensors. Several studies have investigated how three-dimensional laser scanning point clouds from different platforms can be used to [...] Read more.
Nowadays, forest inventories are frequently carried out using a combination of field measurements and remote sensing data, often acquired with light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensors. Several studies have investigated how three-dimensional laser scanning point clouds from different platforms can be used to acquire information traditionally collected with forest instruments, such as hypsometers and callipers to detect single-tree attributes like tree height and diameter at the breast height. The present study has tested the performances of the ZEB1 instrument, a type of hand-held mobile laser scanner, for single-tree attributes estimation in pure Castanea sativa Mill. stands cultivated for fruit production in Central Italy. In particular, the influence of walking scan path density on single-tree attributes estimation (number of trees, tree position, diameter at breast height, tree height, and crown base height) was investigated to test the efficiency of field measures. The point clouds were acquired by walking along straight lines drawn with different spacing: 10 and 15 m apart. A single-tree scan approach, which included walking with the instrument around each tree, was used as reference data. In order to evaluate the efficiency of the survey, the influence of the walking scan path was discussed in relation to the accuracy of single-tree attributes estimation, as well as the time and cost needed for data acquisition, pre-processing, and analysis. Our results show that the 10 m scan path provided the best results, with an omission error of 6%; the assessment of single-tree attributes was successful, with values of the coefficient of determination and the relative root mean square error similar to other studies. The 10 m scan path has also proved to decrease the costs by about €14 for data pre-processing, and a saving of time for data acquisition and data analysis of about 37 min compared to the reference data. Full article
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9 pages, 2056 KiB  
Article
Evaluating the Eccentricities of Poplar Stem Profiles with Terrestrial Laser Scanning
by Nicola Puletti, Mirko Grotti and Roberto Scotti
Forests 2019, 10(3), 239; https://doi.org/10.3390/f10030239 - 08 Mar 2019
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2713
Abstract
The value of wood for different timber assortments can vary by a factor of ten. Optimization of stem assortments is, hence, a key element in the wood products supply chain, particularly for plantations. ‘Taper functions’ are commonly used in other countries to tackle [...] Read more.
The value of wood for different timber assortments can vary by a factor of ten. Optimization of stem assortments is, hence, a key element in the wood products supply chain, particularly for plantations. ‘Taper functions’ are commonly used in other countries to tackle this issue. In Italy, this approach has not yet entered operational use. These functions are developed based on measures of stem diameters taken at different distances from the base. Such measurements are commonly taken felling the tree and using a tape meter and tree caliper, clearly assuming some approximations. This research assesses the advantages, in terms of assortments evaluation, that can be obtained if the diameters at different heights are extracted adequately to process terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) output. TLS data have been collected, in a poplar plantation, on 36 trees distributed on three stands with different plantation densities in Padana Plane, Italy. The estimated profiles display high variability with an average of 1.6 cm of lateral compression. The results from this study demonstrate the potential and feasibility of estimating bole eccentricity by TLS, providing preliminary tools that will hopefully favor the diffusion of taper functions in operational environments. Full article
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