Abstract
Abstract. The quantification of forest carbon sequestration is helpful to understand the carbon storage on the Earth. The estimation of forest carbon sequestration can be achieved by the use of leaf area index (LAI), which is derived from forest gap fraction. The hemispherical image-based technique is the most popular non-destructive means for obtaining such information. However, only the gap fraction of the top canopy is derived due to the limitation of imaging technique. The gap fraction information of understory is thus neglected. In this study, we evaluate the use of a terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) to obtain the forest canopy and understory gap fraction. The forest TLS data were manually classified as the top canopy and understory layers to facilitate the estimation of top canopy and understory gap fraction, respectively.
Highlights
Past studies have demonstrated the use of Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) to produce fisheye image, which can be used for the estimation of forest canopy gap fraction (Morsdorf et al 2006, Danson et al 2007, Zhao and Popescu 2009, Ramirez et al 2013, Zheng et al 2016)
Four wood benchmarks were installed in the field to guide the TLS scan locationa
The TLS points belonging to single trees were manually classified as tree class by iteratively identifying the cylindershaped tree truck feature (Figure 2(A)) and region growing, based on visual inspection, toward the upward or downward directions of the tree trunk
Summary
Past studies have demonstrated the use of Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) to produce fisheye image, which can be used for the estimation of forest canopy gap fraction (Morsdorf et al 2006, Danson et al 2007, Zhao and Popescu 2009, Ramirez et al 2013, Zheng et al 2016). The gap fraction information can be further used to derive leaf area index and forest carbon sequestration. The purpose of this paper is to classify the TLS point data into three different vertical layers, i.e., canopy layer, understory layer, and forest floor layer. The TLS points of canopy layer and understory layer were respectively, processed to produce fisheye images for the computation of gap fraction.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
