Laser Scanning
In laser scanning, the positions of objects are measured using light pulses. These measured coordinates are then used to calculate statistics for forest areas and to derive various forest parameters.
In airborne laser scanning, the positions of objects such as the ground and tree canopies are measured. The sensor’s location and orientation, combined with the distance measurements, allow the positions of the reflections to be determined as 3D points. The distribution of these points can be used to calculate statistics for a forest area and to derive forest parameters such as timber volume, biomass, or stand height. In areas with dense scanning, it is also possible to detect individual trees and determine their characteristics.
Terrestrial (ground-based) laser scanning produces a set of 3D points with intensity values for the reflected laser pulses. From this dataset, both a distance image and an intensity image can be generated. The distance image can be used to automatically measure tree trunks within a sample plot.