Terrestrial laser scanning for tree parameters inventory

Abstract

Presently, the application of Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) technique in forest inventory is becoming widely spread due its high level of accuracy. It is able to provide precise and detailed tree attributes. This study aims to determine tree attributes from point cloud data captured from TLS and to validate the estimated tree attributes by using the conventional method of tree measurement. These attributes include diameter at breast height (DBH) of the tree, tree height, crown base height and average crown spread. They were estimated from both the TLS and conventional techniques. The DBH was estimated using the cylinder fitting model while tree height, crown base height and average crown spread were measured manually from the Cyclone software. Finally, this study has shown that TLS is a reliable technique for tree inventory and can be applied in forest management for easy, fast, and efficient estimation of forest biomass.