A model development and application guide for generating an enhanced forest inventory using airborne laser scanning data and an area-based approach.
Airborne Laser Scanning data—also known as Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR)—enables the accurate three-dimensional characterization of vertical forest structure. Airborne Laser Scanning data have proven to be an information-rich asset for forest managers, enabling the generation of highly detailed digital elevation models and the estimation of a range of forest inventory attributes (e.g., height, basal area, and volume).
Good practice guidance synthesizes current knowledge from the scientific literature and practical experience to provide non-experts more detailed information about complex topics. The guideline is a follow-on document to a best-practices guide that the Canadian Forest Service published previously in 2013.
With this 40-page guide, the goal is to inform and enable readers interested in using Airborne Laser Scanning data to characterize, in an operational forest inventory context, large forest areas in a cost-effective manner. Links to access the free copy of this new guide – and the earlier Best Practices Guide for generating forest inventory attributes from airborne laser scanning data using an area-based approach, are given below.
Best Practices Guideline for LiDAR in Forest Inventory, 2017
Best Practices Guidelines for Generating Forest Inventory Attributes, 2013
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