Considerations for planning, acquiring, and processing LiDAR data for forestry applications

Airborne laser scanning of forests provides accurate terrain models and, at the same time, estimates of multiple resource inventory variables through active sensing of three-dimensional (3D) forest vegetation structure. Researchers in forestry and remote sensing have developed analysis methods to characterize vegetation using airborne laser scanning data that can be applied to large geographic areas and a wide range of forest and non-forest vegetation types. Large-area data acquisitions are becoming more common as federal, state and local government agencies contract for large-area data coverage. Unfortunately, many such acquisitions are obtained using specifications designed for terrain mapping, often resulting in datasets that do not contain key information needed for vegetation measurement and analysis. Standards and specifications for airborne laser scanning missions designed for topographic mapping exist. However, similar guidelines for missions aimed at vegetation measurement and monitoring have not been developed. This paper discusses the requirements for airborne laser scanning data used for topographic surveys and vegetation measurement and highlights deliverables, specific to forestry applications that should be included in data acquisition contracts. We describe the types of data products that can be expected from an airborne laser scanning mission and the amount of data that must be managed and stored. We present an overview of the current state-of-the-art in dat