USING GROUND-BASED LIDAR IN ECOHYDROLOGY, FLUVIAL GEOMORPHOLOGY, AND RIVER RESTORATION

Ground-based LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) techniques have been used for a variety of engineering applications, but as yet have not been evaluated for use in fluvial geomorphology or river restoration. For this project, we evaluated the usefulness of ground-based LiDAR at a variety of research projects throughout the United States, including surveys of incised streams, streambank erosion, as-built maps of restoration sites, gully incision rates, and riparian vegetation. We have developed new survey approaches using ground-based LiDAR that are efficient at covering ground in streams and would be useful for other geomorphic applications. Our results of the initial project are that topographic and vegetation data provided by ground-based LiDAR is superior to other types of data collection, in terms of quantity, quality, and speed of acquisition. This data is readily usable by modern 2D and 3D models that are currently utilized in a variety of studies. As with other types of LiDAR, development of more-advanced filtering techniques will greatly enhance the usefulness of final LiDAR products, however, current filters are sufficient for basic topographic delineation and vegetation removal. Overall, we found that ground-based LiDAR has applications in a variety of fields, including ecohydrology, geomorphology, and river restoration.