Terrestrial laser scanning in forestry: Accuracy and efficiency in measuring individual tree parameters

Area of Science:

• Forestry Science
• Remote Sensing Technology
• Geospatial Analysis

Background:

• Accurate forest resource monitoring is crucial globally.
• Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) offers efficient and precise forest data acquisition.
• Limited studies evaluate single-station, single-scan TLS accuracy for individual tree parameters.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically evaluate the accuracy of TLS in retrieving individual tree parameters (position, height, DBH).
• To assess the effectiveness of single-scan TLS data for forest inventory.
• To provide validation for TLS-based forest plot measurements.

Main Methods:

• Utilized TLS, Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS), and field measurements for validation.
• Analyzed structural parameters including tree height and diameter at breast height (DBH).
• Examined tree position accuracy and detection rates within a 50m radius.

Main Results:

• Single-scan TLS exhibited limited accuracy for tree height estimation (RMSE: 11.61 m for Populus, 2.13 m for Styphnolobium).
• Achieved tree detection rates of 55.96-64.26% within 50m.
• Reported DBH RMSE of 1.60 cm (9.03% RRMSE) and point RMSE of 0.11 m for individual trees.

Conclusions:

• TLS demonstrates potential as an effective tool for forest inventory.
• Findings highlight limitations in single-scan TLS for precise tree height retrieval.
• Results offer a basis for assessing the reliability of TLS-derived forest plot data.