Detection of forest strata volume using LiDAR data

Abstract

Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR), which is an active remote sensing technique with a high spatial resolution, data was used to extract the 3D structure of the canopy and then to estimate some biophysical properties of the shrubs in a forested area. Several forest attributes, such as the Canopy Height Model (CHM) and the Digital Terrain Model (DTM), were reconstructed by our approach. The 3D structure of dominant trees and shrubs was also described, and the Leaf Area Index (LAI) of the shrubs was correctly estimated. Our developed methods were tested and evaluated using realistic vegetated scenes simulated on DART (Discrete Anisotropic Radiative transfer).