Tree species biomass and carbon stock measurement using ground based-LiDAR

This study scrutinises the use of terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) to measure diameter at breast height (DBH) and tree height at individual tree species level. LiDAR point cloud scans are collected from uniformly defined control points. The result of processed TLS data demonstrates the precise measurements of tree height and DBH by comparing it with field data (DBH, tree height, tree species and location). The average tree height and DBH obtained through TLS measurements were 9.44?m and 43.30?cm, respectively. A linear equation between TLS derived parameters and field measured values were established, which gave the coefficient of determination (r2) of 0.79 and 0.96 for tree height and DBH, respectively. Further, these parameters were used to calculate above ground biomass (AGB) for individual tree species by considering a non-destructive approach. The total AGB and carbon stock from 80 different trees are computed to be 49.601 and 22.320?tonnes, respectively.     

地面LiDAR技术与移动最小二乘法在三维建模中的应用

地面LiDAR不仅能够快速获得建筑物表面精确三维坐标点云信息,并且利用自身所携带的相机同时采集建筑物的影像信息,这使得地面LiDAR在城市三维建模与古建筑精细模型制作中得到广泛应用。然而地面Li-DAR采集的点云数据巨大,离散点之间没有关系,这给建模带来了困难。本文通过将地面LiDAR数据进行预处理得到建筑物点云数据,再通过移动最小二乘法来拟合建筑面构建建筑物模型,实验证明移动最小二乘法拟合得到的建筑物模型光滑准确,能够将建筑物的细节信息表达出来。     

“针孔”模拟成像下的单航空影像与LiDAR点云配准

以摄影测量共线方程为严格配准模型,提出了一种引入针孔成像模拟过程的单张航空影像LiDAR点云配准迭代方法,共分为3个阶段:第一,利用航空影像内参数及初始外方位元素对LiDAR点云针孔模拟成像,生成与航空影像空间分辨率、几何形变相接近且具有相同幅面大小的透视影像-LiDAR深度影像;第二,以梯度互信息作为影像相似性测度依据,实施影像金字塔、分块处理策略实现LiDAR深度影像与航空影像几何变换参数快速估计,进而依据估计参数及LiDAR深度影像、激光脚点投影关系建立LiDAR点云航空影像概略相关;第三,以LiDAR点云影像概略相关下的近似同名像点为观测值,以像点梯度互信息为权重,实施摄影测量空间后方交会计算获得优化的影像外方位元素,生成新的LiDAR深度影像并重复上述过程,直至满足给定的迭代计算条件,实现单张航空影像与LiDAR点云数据的自动空间配准。实验表明,本文方法配准精度达亚像素级且自动化程度高。     

Moving from plot-based to hillslope-scale assessments of savanna vegetation structure with long-range terrestrial laser scanning (LR-TLS)

Reliable quantification of savanna vegetation structure is critical for accurate carbon accounting and biodiversity assessment under changing climate and land-use conditions. Inventories of fine-scale vegetation structural attributes are typically conducted from field-based plots or transects, while large-area monitoring relies on a combination of airborne and satellite remote sensing. Both of these approaches have their strengths and limitations, but terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) has emerged as the benchmark for vegetation structural parameterization – recording and quantifying 3D structural detail that is not possible from manual field-based or airborne/spaceborne methods. However, traditional TLS approaches suffer from similar spatial constraints as field-based inventories. Given their small areal coverage, standard TLS plots may fail to capture the heterogeneity of landscapes in which they are embedded. Here we test the potential of long-range (>2000 m) terrestrial laser scanning (LR-TLS) to provide rapid and robust assessment of savanna vegetation 3D structure at hillslope scales. We used LR-TLS to sample entire savanna hillslopes from topographic vantage points and collected coincident plot-scale (1 ha) TLS scans at increasing distances from the LR-TLS station. We merged multiple TLS scans at the plot scale to provide the reference structure, and evaluated how 3D metrics derived from LR-TLS deviated from this baseline with increasing distance. Our results show that despite diluted point density and increased beam divergence with distance, LR-TLS can reliably characterize tree height (RMSE = 0.25–1.45 m) and canopy cover (RMSE = 5.67–15.91%) at distances of up to 500 m in open savanna woodlands. When aggregated to the same sampling grain as leading spaceborne vegetation products (10–30 m), our findings show potential for LR-TLS to play a key role in constraining satellite-based structural estimates in savannas over larger areas than traditional TLS sampling can provide.     

融合航空影像的LiDAR地物点云分类

点云滤波分类是LiDAR后续应用的基础工作,在点云滤波的基础上,以航空影像为辅助条件,结合点云高程信息,设计一套地物点云的分类方法。该方法首先融合航空影像与LiDAR数据,将对应RGB值赋予每个点,根据植被的光谱特征提取出部分植被点云;然后再根据文中定义的点云高程纹理,在剩余地物点云中提取出建筑物点,最后根据回波次数信息分离出剩余植被点,完成地物点云的分类。采用北京凤凰岭地区一组机载LiDAR数据进行实验。实验结果表明,该方法能够有效地将地物点云进行分类并且满足一定的精度要求,具有一定的实用价值。     

利用影像辅助LiDAR点云数据的建筑物提取方法研究

机载LiDAR作为一种新兴的对地观测技术,能够快速地获取地表三维信息。如何从海量LiDAR点云数据中提取建筑物是数据处理中的一项关键工作。本文结合LiDAR数据和航空影像的数据特点,提出了一种航空影像辅助的LiDAR点云建筑物提取方法,首先,采用面向对象方法从航空影像中提取建筑物的轮廓;然后,以建筑轮廓信息为参考,从LiDAR点云中提取建筑物的点云数据;最后,通过实验证明该方法的有效性与可行性。     

Synthetic RapidEye data used for the detection of area-based spruce tree mortality induced by bark beetles

Tree mortality caused by outbreaks of the bark beetle Ips typographus (L.) plays an important role in the natural dynamics of Norway spruce (Picea abies L.) stands, which could cause far-reaching changes in the occurrence and duration of vegetation phenology. Field-based early detection of tree disturbances is hampered by logistic, terrain, and technical shortcomings, and by the inability to continuously monitor disturbances over large areas. Despite achievements in remote mapping of bark-beetle-induced tree mortalities, early warning has been mostly unsuccessful mainly because of the lack of spectral sensitivity and discrepancies in definitions of field- and image-based disturbance classes. Here we applied a method based on inter-annual phenology of Norway spruce stands derived from synthetic multispectral data to part of the Bavarian Forest National Park in Germany. We fused temporally continuous Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer and discrete RapidEye data using a flexible spatiotemporal data fusion method to achieve validated 8-day RapidEye-like composites of normalized difference vegetation index for 2011. We assumed that the dead trees delineated on 2012 aerial photographs were those in which bark beetle infestations were initiated in 2011. Samples were drawn with variable-sized buffering to represent the areas prone to infestations and their surroundings. We applied a conditional inference random forest to select the best image date among the entire 46 synthetic datasets to best discriminate between the core infestation patches and their surroundings from the subsequent year. Of the discrete time points identified, day 281 of the year represented the highest discrepancy between aerial image-based dead trees and their surroundings. Classification results were significantly correlated with beetle count data obtained using pheromone traps. Our method provided valuable information for management purposes and enabled wall-to-wall mapping of stands prone to infestation and its uncertainty. The results offer potential implications for rapid and cost-effective monitoring of bark beetle outbreaks using satellite data, which would be of great benefit for both management and research tasks.     

基于ICESatGLAS的云南省森林地上生物量反演

结合机载、星载激光雷达对GLAS(地球科学激光测高系统)光斑范围内的森林地上生物量进行估测,并利用MODIS植被产品以及MERIS土地覆盖产品进行了云南省森林地上生物量的连续制图。机载LiDAR扫描的260个训练样本用于构建星载GLAS的森林地上生物量估测模型,模型的决定系数(R2)为0.52,均方根误差(RMSE)为31Mg/ha。研究结果显示,云南省总森林地上生物量为12.72亿t,平均森林地上生物量为94Mg/ha。估测的森林地上生物量空间分布情况与实际情况相符,森林地上生物量总量与基于森林资源清查数据的估测结果相符,表明了利用机载LiDAR与星载ICESatGLAS结合进行大区域森林地上生物量估测的可靠性。     

激光雷达森林参数反演研究进展

激光雷达通过发射激光能量和接收返回信号的方式,来获取高精度的森林空间结构和林下地形信息。全波形激光雷达通过记录返回信号的全部能量,得到亚米级植被垂直剖面;离散回波激光雷达记录的单个或多个回波,表示来自不同冠层的回波信号。星载激光雷达一般采用全波形或光子计数激光剖面系统,仅能获取卫星轨道下方的单波束或多波束数据,用于区域/全球范围的森林垂直结构及变化观测。机载激光雷达多采用离散回波或全波形激光扫描系统,能够获取飞行轨迹下方特定视场范围内的扫描数据,用于林分/区域范围的森林结构观测。地基激光雷达多采用离散回波激光扫描系统,获取以测站为中心的球形空间内扫描数据,用于单木/样地范围的森林结构观测。激光雷达单木因子估测方法可分为CHM单木法、NPC单木法和体元单木法3类。CHM单木法通过局部最大值识别树冠顶点,采用区域生长或图像分割算法识别树冠边界或树冠主方向,NPC单木法一般通过空间聚类或形态学算法识别单木,体元单木法在3维体元空间采用区域生长或空间聚类算法识别树冠。根据激光雷达冠层高度分布可以估测林分因子,冠层高度分布特征来自于离散点云或全波形。多时相激光雷达可用于森林生长量、生物量变化等监测,以及森林采伐、灾害等引起的结构变化监测。随着激光雷达技术的发展,它将在森林调查、生态环境建模等生产与科学研究领域中得到更为广泛的应用。     

支持向量机的建筑物激光脚点提取方法

本文提出了一种基于全色波段航空影像和激光雷达数据的建筑物检测方法.如何从激光点云数据中提取出建筑物激光脚点,是建筑物三维重建和轮廓提取的难点问题之一.植被密集区域以及与建筑物紧密相邻的树木的激光点很难与建筑物激光点区分开.本文利用支持向量机对单个激光点的特征进行两分类,特征向量包括激光点的高程、高程变化信息以及与激光点...     

Geostatistical modeling using LiDAR-derived prior knowledge with SPOT-6 data to estimate temperate forest canopy cover and above-ground biomass via stratified random sampling

Forest canopy cover (CC) and above-ground biomass (AGB) are important ecological indicators for forest monitoring and geoscience applications. This study aimed to estimate temperate forest CC and AGB by integrating airborne LiDAR data with wall-to-wall space-borne SPOT-6 data through geostatistical modeling. Our study involved the following approach: (1) reference maps of CC and AGB were derived from wall-to-wall LiDAR data and calibrated by field measurements; (2) twelve discrete LiDAR flights were simulated by assuming that LiDAR data were only available beneath these flights; (3) training/testing samples of CC and AGB were extracted from the reference maps inside and outside the simulated flights using stratified random sampling; (4) The simple linear regression, ordinary kriging and regression kriging model were used to extend the sparsely sampled CC/AGB data to the entire study area by incorporating a selection of SPOT-6 variables, including vegetation indices and texture variables. The regression kriging model was superior at estimating and mapping the spatial distribution of CC and AGB, as it featured the lowest mean absolute error (MAE; 11.295% and 18.929 t/ha for CC and AGB, respectively) and root mean squared error (RMSE; 17.361% and 21.351 t/ha for CC and AGB, respectively). The predicted and reference values of both CC and AGB were highly correlated for the entire study area based on the estimation histograms and error maps. Finally, we concluded that the regression kriging model was superior and more effective at estimating LiDAR-derived CC and AGB values using the spatially-reduced samples and the SPOT-6 variables. The presented modeling workflow will greatly facilitate future forest growth monitoring and carbon stock assessments for large areas of temperate forest in northeast China. It also provides guidance on how to take full advantage of future sparsely collected LiDAR data in cases where wall-to-wall LiDAR coverage is not available from the perspective of geostatistics.     

Automatic registration of optical imagery with 3D LiDAR data using statistical similarity

The development of robust and accurate methods for automatic registration of optical imagery and 3D LiDAR data continues to be a challenge for a variety of applications in photogrammetry, computer vision and remote sensing. This paper proposes a new approach for the registration of optical imagery with LiDAR data based on the theory of Mutual Information (MI), which exploits the statistical dependency between same- and multi-modal datasets to achieve accurate registration. The MI-based similarity measures quantify dependencies between aerial imagery, and both LiDAR intensity data and 3D point cloud data. The needs for specific physical feature correspondences, which are not always attainable in the registration of imagery with 3D point clouds, are avoided. Current methods for registering 2D imagery to 3D point clouds are first reviewed, after which the mutual MI approach is presented. Particular attention is given to adoption of the Normalised Combined Mutual Information (NCMI) approach as a means to produce a similarity measure that exploits the inherently registered LiDAR intensity and point cloud data so as to improve the robustness of registration between optical imagery and LiDAR data. The effectiveness of local versus global similarity measures is also investigated, as are the transformation models involved in the registration process. An experimental program conducted to evaluate MI-based methods for registering aerial imagery to LiDAR data is reported and the results obtained in two areas with differing terrain and land cover, and with aerial imagery of different resolution and LiDAR data with different point density are discussed. These results demonstrate the potential of the MI and especially the CMI methods for registration of imagery and 3D point clouds, and they highlight the feasibility and robustness of the presented MI-based approach to automated registration of multi-sensor, multi-temporal and multi-resolution remote sensing data for a wide range of applications.     

Automatic Registration Between Low-Altitude LiDAR Point Clouds and Aerial Images Using Road Features

Among the many means of acquiring surface information, low-altitude light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems (e.g., unmanned aerial vehicle LiDAR, UAV-LiDAR) have become an important approach to accessing geospatial information. Considering the lower level of hardware technology in low-altitude LiDAR systems compared to that in airborne LiDAR, and the greater flexibility in-flight, registration procedures must be first performed to facilitate the fusion of laser point data and aerial images. The corner points and edges of buildings are frequently used for the automatic registration of aerial imagery with LiDAR data. Although aerial images and LiDAR data provide powerful support for building detection, adaptive edge detection for all types of building shapes is difficult. To deal with the weakness of building edge detection and reduce matching-related computation, the study presents a novel automatic registration method for aerial images, with LiDAR data, on the basis of main-road information in urban areas. Firstly, vector road centerlines are extracted from raw LiDAR data and then projected onto related aerial images with the use of coarse exterior orientation parameters (EOPs). Secondly, the corresponding image road features of each LiDAR vector road are determined using an improved total rectangle-matching approach. Finally, the endpoints of the conjugate road features obtained from the LiDAR data and aerial images are used as ground control points in space resection adjustment to refine the EOPs; an iterative strategy is used to obtain optimal matching results. Experimental results using road features verify the feasibility, robustness and accuracy of the proposed approach.     

Ground filtering and vegetation mapping using multi-return terrestrial laser scanning

Discriminating laser scanner data points belonging to ground from points above-ground (vegetation or buildings) is a key issue in research. Methods for filtering points into ground and non-ground classes have been widely studied mostly on datasets derived from airborne laser scanners, less so for terrestrial laser scanners. Recent developments in terrestrial laser sensors (longer ranges, faster acquisition and multiple return echoes) has aroused greater interest for surface modelling applications. The downside of TLS is that a typical dataset has high variability in point density, with evident side-effects on processing methods and CPU-time. In this work we use a scan dataset from a sensor which returns multiple target echoes, in this case providing more than 70 million points on our study site. The area presents low, medium and high vegetation, undergrowth with varying density, as well as bare ground with varying morphology (i.e. very steep slopes as well as flat areas). We test an integrated work-flow for defining a terrain and surface model (DTM and DSM) and successively for extracting information on vegetation density and height distribution on such a complex environment. Attention was given to efficiency and speed of processing. The method consists on a first step which subsets the original points to define ground candidates by taking into account the ordinal return number and the amplitude. A custom progressive morphological filter (opening operation) is applied next, on ground candidate points using a multidimensional grid to account for the fallout in point density as a function of distance from scanner. Vegetation density mapping over the area is then estimated using a weighted ratio of point counts in the tri-dimensional space over each cell. The overall result is a pipeline for processing TLS points clouds with minimal user interaction, producing a Digital Terrain Model (DTM), a Digital Surface Model (DSM), a vegetation density map and a derived Canopy Height Model (CHM). These products are of high importance for many applications ranging from forestry to hydrology and geomorphology.     

The effect of leaf-on and leaf-off forest canopy conditions on LiDAR derived estimations of forest structural diversity

Forest structural diversity metrics describing diversity in tree size and crown shape within forest stands can be used as indicators of biodiversity. These diversity metrics can be generated using airborne laser scanning (LiDAR) data to provide a rapid and cost effective alternative to ground-based inspection. Measures of tree height derived from LiDAR can be significantly affected by the canopy conditions at the time of data collection, in particular whether the canopy is under leaf-on or leaf-off conditions, but there have been no studies of the effects on structural diversity metrics. The aim of this research is to assess whether leaf-on/leaf-off changes in canopy conditions during LiDAR data collection affect the accuracy of calculated forest structural diversity metrics. We undertook a quantitative analysis of LiDAR ground detection and return height, and return height diversity from two airborne laser scanning surveys collected under leaf-on and leaf-off conditions to assess initial dataset differences. LiDAR data were then regressed against field-derived tree size diversity measurements using diversity metrics from each LiDAR dataset in isolation and, where appropriate, a mixture of the two. Models utilising leaf-off LiDAR diversity variables described DBH diversity, crown length diversity and crown width diversity more successfully than leaf-on (leaf-on models resulted in R² values of 0.66, 0.38 and 0.16, respectively, and leaf-off models 0.67, 0.37 and 0.23, respectively). When LiDAR datasets were combined into one model to describe tree height diversity and DBH diversity the models described 75% and 69% of the variance (R² of 0.75 for tree height diversity and 0.69 for DBH diversity). The results suggest that tree height diversity models derived from airborne LiDAR, collected (and where appropriate combined) under any seasonal conditions, can be used to differentiate between simple single and diverse multiple storey forest structure with confidence.     

High Resolution DEM Generation in High‐Alpine Terrain Using Airborne Remote Sensing Techniques

Up‐to‐date and accurate digital elevation models (DEMs) are essential for many applications such as numerical modeling of mass movements or mapping of terrain changes. Today the Federal Department of Topography, swisstopo, provides Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) and Digital Surface Models (DSMs) derived from airborne LiDAR data with a high spatial resolution of 2 m covering the entire area of Switzerland below an elevation of 2000 m a.s.l.. However, above an elevation of 2000 m a.s.l., which is typical for high‐alpine terrain, the best product available is the a DTM with a spatial resolution of 25 m. This spatial resolution is insufficient for many applications in complex terrain. In this study, we investigate the quality of DSMs derived from opto‐electronic scanner data (ADS80; acquired in autumn 2010) using photogrammetric image correlation techniques based on the multispectral nadir and backward looking sensor data. As reference, we take a high precision airborne LiDAR data set with a spatial resolution of ca. 0.5 m, acquired in late summer 2010, covering the Grabengufer/Dorfbach catchment near Randa, VS. We find the deviations between the two datasets are surprisingly low. In terrain with inclination angles of less than 30° the RMSE is below 0.5 m. In extremely steep terrain of more than 50° the RMSE goes up to 2 m and outliers increase significantly. We also find dependencies of the deviations on illumination conditions and ground cover classes. Finally we discuss advantages and disadvantages of the different data acquisition methods.     

基于空-地多源数据融合的建筑物精细建模研究

针对建筑物精细建模的精度问题,对同一试验区建筑物群的机载LiDAR顶面数据、航空正射影像数据和车载LiDAR立面数据进行试验研究,通过精确提取各建筑物群的顶面和底面矢量轮廓线,对矢量轮廓线间的水平间距进行定性与定量分析,研究结果对空-地多源数据融合进行建筑物精细建模提供可靠的技术支持。     

Retrieval of effective leaf area index (LAIe) and leaf area density (LAD) profile at individual tree level using high density multi-return airborne LiDAR

As an important canopy structure indicator, leaf area index (LAI) proved to be of considerable implications for forest ecosystem and ecological studies, and efficient techniques for accurate LAI acquisitions have long been highlighted. Airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR), often termed as airborne laser scanning (ALS), once was extensively investigated for this task but showed limited performance due to its low sampling density. Now, ALS systems exhibit more competing capacities such as high density and multi-return sampling, and hence, people began to ask the questions like—“can ALS now work better on the task of LAI prediction?” As a re-examination, this study investigated the feasibility of LAI retrievals at the individual tree level based on high density and multi-return ALS, by directly considering the vertical distributions of laser points lying within each tree crown instead of by proposing feature variables such as quantiles involving laser point distribution modes at the plot level. The examination was operated in the case of four tree species (i.e. Picea abies, Pinus sylvestris, Populus tremula and Quercus robur) in a mixed forest, with their LAI-related reference data collected by using static terrestrial laser scanning (TLS). In light of the differences between ALS- and TLS-based LAI characterizations, the methods of voxelization of 3D scattered laser points, effective LAI (LAIe) that does not distinguish branches from canopies and unified cumulative LAI (ucLAI) that is often used to characterize the vertical profiles of crown leaf area densities (LADs) was used; then, the relationships between the ALS- and TLS-derived LAIes were determined, and so did ucLAIs. Tests indicated that the tree-level LAIes for the four tree species can be estimated based on the used airborne LiDAR (R² = 0.07, 0.26, 0.43 and 0.21, respectively) and their ucLAIs can also be derived. Overall, this study has validated the usage of the contemporary high density multi-return airborne LiDARs for LAIe and LAD profile retrievals at the individual tree level, and the contribution are of high potential for advancing forest ecosystem modeling and ecological understanding.     

Forest inventories by LiDAR data: A comparison of single tree segmentation and metric-based methods for inventories of a heterogeneous temperate forest

Inventories of temperate forests of Central Europe mainly rely on terrestrial measurements. Rapid alterations of forests by disturbances and multilayer silvicultural systems increasingly challenge the use of conventional plot based inventories, particularly in protected areas. Airborne LiDAR offers an alternative or supplement to conventional inventories, but despite the possibility of obtaining such remote sensing data, its operational use for broader areas in Central Europe remains experimental. We evaluated two methods of forest inventory that use LiDAR data at the landscape level: the single tree segment-based method and an area-based method. We compared a set of structural forest attributes modeled by these methods with a conventional forest inventory of the highly heterogeneous forest of the Bavarian Forest National Park (Germany), which partially includes stands affected by severe natural disturbances. Area-based models were accurate for all structural attributes, with cross-validated average root mean squared error ranging from ∼3.4 to ∼13.4 in the best modeling case. The coefficients of variation for the mapped area-based estimations were mostly minor. The area-based estimations were varied but highly correlated (Pearson’s correlations between ∼ 0.56 and 0.85) with single tree segmentation estimations; undetected trees in the single tree segmentat-based method were the main sources of inconsistency. The single tree segment-based method was highly correlated (∼ 0.54 to 0.90) with data from ground-based forest inventories. The single tree-based algorithm delivered highly reliable estimates for a set of forest structural attributes that are of interest in forest inventories at the landscape scale. We recommend LiDAR forest inventories at the landscape scale in both heterogeneous commercial forests and large protected areas in the central European temperate sites.