Towards Automated Characterization of Canopy Layering in Mixed Temperate Forests Using Airborne Laser Scanning

Forests

Reik Leiterer³  Hossein Torabzadeh³  Reinhard Furrer²  Michael E. Schaepman³  Felix Morsdorf³  Juha Hyyppä¹ 

[1] Remote Sensing Laboratories, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Zurich CH-8057, Switzerland;;Institute of Mathematics, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Zurich CH-8057, Switzerland; E-Mail:;Remote Sensing Laboratories, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Zurich CH-8057, Switzerland; E-Mails:

关键词: remote sensing;    multi-scale;    operational;    point cloud;    area-based approach;    forest inventory;    vegetation structure;    LiDAR;   

DOI  :  10.3390/f6114146

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Canopy layers form essential structural components, affecting stand productivity and wildlife habitats. Airborne laser scanning (ALS) provides horizontal and vertical information on canopy structure simultaneously. Existing approaches to assess canopy layering often require prior information about stand characteristics or rely on pre-defined height thresholds. We developed a multi-scale method using ALS data with point densities >10 pts/m² to determine the number and vertical extent of canopy layers (canopy_layer, canopy_length), seasonal variations in the topmost canopy layer (canopy_type), as well as small-scale heterogeneities in the canopy (canopy_{heterogeneity}). We first tested and developed the method on a small forest patch (800 ha) and afterwards tested transferability and robustness of the method on a larger patch (180,000 ha). We validated the approach using an extensive set of ground data, achieving overall accuracies >77% for canopy_type and canopy_{heterogeneity}, and >62% for canopy_layer and canopy_length. We conclude that our method provides a robust characterization of canopy layering supporting automated canopy structure monitoring.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.