UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Terrestrial Laser Scanning for Plot-Scale Forest Measurement

Disney, MI; Newham, GJ; Armston, JD; Calders, K; Lovell, JL; Schaaf, CB; Strahler, AH; (2015) Terrestrial Laser Scanning for Plot-Scale Forest Measurement. Current Forestry Reports , 1 (4) pp. 239-251. 10.1007/s40725-015-0025-5. Green open access

[thumbnail of newnham_et_al_2015_accepted.pdf]
Preview
Text
newnham_et_al_2015_accepted.pdf

Download (3MB) | Preview

Abstract

Plot-scale measurements have been the foundation for forest surveys and reporting for over 200 years. Through recent integration with airborne and satellite remote sensing, manual measurements of vegetation structure at the plot scale are now the basis for landscape, continental and international mapping of our forest resources. The use of terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) for plot-scale measurement was first demonstrated over a decade ago, with the intimation that these instruments could replace manual measurement methods. This has not yet been the case, despite the unparalleled structural information that TLS can capture. For TLS to reach its full potential, these instruments cannot be viewed as a logical progression of existing plot-based measurement. TLS must be viewed as a disruptive technology that requires a rethink of vegetation surveys and their application across a wide range of disciplines. We review the development of TLS as a plot-scale measurement tool, including the evolution of both instrument hardware and key data processing methodologies. We highlight two broad data modelling approaches of gap probability and geometrical modelling and the basic theory that underpins these. Finally, we discuss the future prospects for increasing the utilisation of TLS for plot-scale forest assessment and forest monitoring.

Type: Article
Title: Terrestrial Laser Scanning for Plot-Scale Forest Measurement
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1007/s40725-015-0025-5
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40725-015-0025-5
Language: English
Additional information: The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40725-015-0025-5.
Keywords: Forest plot measurement, Terrestrial laser scanning, Vegetation measurement
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Dept of Geography
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1472395
Downloads since deposit
111Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item