MONITORING FORESTS AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT: LIDAR APPLICATIONS IN FORESTRY

Airborne scanning LIDAR is a proven technology for producing high-resolution, spatially-accurate ground surface models. Many disciplines, including forestry, are benefitting from the bare-earth surface products obtained from LIDAR acquisitions. However, the LIDAR point cloud also captures measurements of objects and features above the ground with a level of detail that far exceeds anything previously available. The forestry research community has been involved in developing techniques that relate LIDAR measurements to the spatial distribution and characteristics of vegetation. The methods and analysis procedures developed by researchers are being used in operational contexts to provide forest managers with wall-to-wall information covering large areas and describing the size, density, and spatial pattern of trees and other vegetation. This information in combination with high-resolution ground surfaces is setting the stage for a paradigm shift in the way forests are monitored and managed. This presentation reviews the objectives and methods used to derive vegetation information from LIDAR acquisitions and describes the outputs and their uses in forest management.