Assessing the potential for leaf-off LiDAR data to model canopy closure in temperate deciduous forests

Estimates of canopy closure have many important uses in forest management and ecological research. Field measurements, however, are typically not practical to acquire over expansive areas or for large numbers of locations. This problem has been addressed, in recent years, through the use of airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology which has proven effective in modeling canopy closure remotely. The techniques developed to use LiDAR for this purpose have been designed and evaluated for datasets acquired during leaf-on conditions. However, a large number of LiDAR datasets are acquired during leaf-off conditions since their primary purpose is to generate bare-earth Digital Elevation Models. In this paper, we develop and evaluate techniques for leveraging small-footprint leaf-off LiDAR data to model leaf-on canopy closure in temperate deciduous forests.We evaluate three techniques for modeling canopy closure: (1) the canopy-to-total-return-ratio (CTRR), (2) the canopy-to-total-pixel-ratio (CTPR), and (3) the hemispherical-viewshed (HV). The first technique has been used widely, in various forms, and has been shown to be effective with leaf-on LiDAR datasets. The CTRR technique that we tested uses the first-return LiDAR data only. The latter two techniques are new contributions that we develop and present in this paper. These techniques use Canopy Height Models (CHM) to detect significant gaps in the forest canopy which are of primary importance in estimating closure.The techniques we tested each showed good promise for predicting canopy closure using leaf-off LiDAR data with the CTPR and HV models having particularly high correlations with closure estimates from hemispherical photographs. The CTRR model had performance on par with results from previous studies that used leaf-on LiDAR, although, with leaf-off data the model tended to be negatively biased with respect to species having simple and compound leaf types and positively biased for coniferous species. The CTPR and HV models also showed some slight negative biases for compound-leaf species. The biases for the CTPR and HV models were mitigated when the CHM data were smoothed to fill in small gaps. The CHM-based models were robust to changes in the CHM model resolution which suggests that these methods may be applicable to a variety of small-footprint LiDAR datasets. In this research, the new CTPR and HV methods showed a strong ability to predict canopy closure using leaf-off data, however, future work will be needed to test the applicability of the models to variations in LiDAR datasets, forest types, and topography.     

集成Landsat OLI和机载LiDAR条带数据的亚热带森林生物量制图

以亚热带天然次生林为研究对象,借助一个条带的少量LiDAR点云数据和覆盖整个研究区的免费Landsat OLI多光谱数据,并结合地面实测数据,探索森林生物量低成本高精度制图方法。首先,提取了OLI和LiDAR特征变量,并与地上和地下生物量进行相关分析以筛选变量;然后,借助LiDAR数据覆盖区的样地和条带LiDAR数据构建"LiDAR生物量模型";再从LiDAR反演生物量的结果中进行采样,结合OLI特征变量构建"LiDAR-OLI模型";最后,与单独使用OLI多光谱数据建立的"OLI估算模型"结果进行比较,分析精度并验证新方法的效果。结果表明,"LiDAR-OLI模型"对地上和地下生物量的模型拟合效果较好且均优于"OLI模型",且其交叉验证的精度也较高并优于"OLI模型",从而证明了新方法的可靠性及有效性。本研究为主、被动遥感技术在中小尺度上协同反演森林参数提供了实验基础,也为基于全覆盖免费OLI多光谱数据及条带LiDAR数据的低成本森林生物量制图探索了技术路线。     

利用机载LiDAR数据提取与分析地裂缝

机载激光扫描可获取植被茂密地区的数字地形模型(DTM),但将其用于茂密植被覆盖区地裂缝提取方法的研究还不多见。以湖南冷水江市浪石滩为试验区,基于机载Li DAR的激光点云数据,研究了植被覆盖区地裂缝的提取方法,分析了地裂缝的微地貌特征。首先对离散的三维激光点云数据依次进行基于不规则三角网滤波、高程滤波及回波信息强度滤波提取地面点,以保留完整的微地貌微特征;然后构建不规则三角网,反距离加权内插生成数字高程模型(DEM),提取地裂缝识别参数,同时基于最小曲率对地裂缝进行线性探测,提取地裂缝的长度信息,且利用地裂缝剖面信息分析其微特征,结合识别参数分析地裂缝的稳定性。研究结果表明:利用机载Li DAR点云数据提取的地裂缝识别参数,能够确定地裂缝的位置、坡度坡向、长度和深度信息,有助于判定地裂缝的稳定性;在植被较为茂密、地面点密度稀疏的区域,保留一定的低矮植被所提取到的DEM能更好地保留地裂缝的微地貌特征。     

一种从机载LiDAR点云获取建筑物外部轮廓的方法

利用点云的滤波、带距离控制的卷包裹算法以及复杂多边形的简化等一系列的算法对测区的机载LiDAR数据进行运算和处理,最终得到描述建筑物在不同高度时的外部轮廓多边形,为基于影像和辅助数据相结合的遥感影像阴影区域提取方法提供有效的辅助数据源。     

机载LiDAR数据逐航带平差与航带区域网平差对比

机载LiDAR系统获取的点云数据在经过预处理解算后仍会残余部分系统误差,因此,在利用点云数据生成DEM等相关数字产品之前,必须检查并改正这部分系统误差。以此为主要目标,本文对机载LiDAR数据的逐航带平差与航带区域网平差展开研究,并以Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 C++为开发平台、基于实测数据对比了两者在完成多航带构成的测区平差时的精度,结果表明:机载LiDAR数据的航带区域网平差方法相较于LZD算法可有效降低逐航带平差导致的误差累积,精度更高。     

Impact of data model and point density on aboveground forest biomass estimation from airborne LiDAR

Background

Accurate estimation of aboveground forest biomass (AGB) and its dynamics is of paramount importance in understanding the role of forest in the carbon cycle and the effective implementation of climate change mitigation policies. LiDAR is currently the most accurate technology for AGB estimation. LiDAR metrics can be derived from the 3D point cloud (echo-based) or from the canopy height model (CHM). Different sensors and survey configurations can affect the metrics derived from the LiDAR data. We evaluate the ability of the metrics derived from the echo-based and CHM data models to estimate AGB in three different biomes, as well as the impact of point density on the metrics derived from them.

Results

Our results show that differences among metrics derived at different point densities were significantly different from zero, with a larger impact on CHM-based than echo-based metrics, particularly when the point density was reduced to 1 point m^?2. Both data models-echo-based and CHM-performed similarly well in estimating AGB at the three study sites. For the temperate forest in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California, USA, R² ranged from 0.79 to 0.8 and RMSE (relRMSE) from 69.69 (35.59%) to 70.71 (36.12%) Mg ha^?1 for the echo-based model and from 0.76 to 0.78 and 73.84 (37.72%) to 128.20 (65.49%) Mg ha^?1 for the CHM-based model. For the moist tropical forest on Barro Colorado Island, Panama, the models gave R² ranging between 0.70 and 0.71 and RMSE between 30.08 (12.36%) and 30.32 (12.46) Mg ha^?1 [between 0.69–0.70 and 30.42 (12.50%) and 61.30 (25.19%) Mg ha^?1] for the echo-based [CHM-based] models. Finally, for the Atlantic forest in the Sierra do Mar, Brazil, R² was between 0.58–0.69 and RMSE between 37.73 (8.67%) and 39.77 (9.14%) Mg ha^?1 for the echo-based model, whereas for the CHM R² was between 0.37–0.45 and RMSE between 45.43 (10.44%) and 67.23 (15.45%) Mg ha^?1.

Conclusions

Metrics derived from the CHM show a higher dependence on point density than metrics derived from the echo-based data model. Despite the median of the differences between metrics derived at different point densities differing significantly from zero, the mean change was close to zero and smaller than the standard deviation except for very low point densities (1 point m^?2). The application of calibrated models to estimate AGB on metrics derived from thinned datasets resulted in less than 5% error when metrics were derived from the echo-based model. For CHM-based metrics, the same level of error was obtained for point densities higher than 5 points m^?2. The fact that reducing point density does not introduce significant errors in AGB estimates is important for biomass monitoring and for an effective implementation of climate change mitigation policies such as REDD + due to its implications for the costs of data acquisition. Both data models showed similar capability to estimate AGB when point density was greater than or equal to 5 point m^?2.

     

Synergy of airborne LiDAR and Worldview-2 satellite imagery for land cover and habitat mapping: A BIO_SOS-EODHaM case study for the Netherlands

A major challenge is to develop a biodiversity observation system that is cost effective and applicable in any geographic region. Measuring and reliable reporting of trends and changes in biodiversity requires amongst others detailed and accurate land cover and habitat maps in a standard and comparable way. The objective of this paper is to assess the EODHaM (EO Data for Habitat Mapping) classification results for a Dutch case study. The EODHaM system was developed within the BIO_SOS (The BIOdiversity multi-SOurce monitoring System: from Space TO Species) project and contains the decision rules for each land cover and habitat class based on spectral and height information. One of the main findings is that canopy height models, as derived from LiDAR, in combination with very high resolution satellite imagery provides a powerful input for the EODHaM system for the purpose of generic land cover and habitat mapping for any location across the globe. The assessment of the EODHaM classification results based on field data showed an overall accuracy of 74% for the land cover classes as described according to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Land Cover Classification System (LCCS) taxonomy at level 3, while the overall accuracy was lower (69.0%) for the habitat map based on the General Habitat Category (GHC) system for habitat surveillance and monitoring. A GHC habitat class is determined for each mapping unit on the basis of the composition of the individual life forms and height measurements. The classification showed very good results for forest phanerophytes (FPH) when individual life forms were analyzed in terms of their percentage coverage estimates per mapping unit from the LCCS classification and validated with field surveys. Analysis for shrubby chamaephytes (SCH) showed less accurate results, but might also be due to less accurate field estimates of percentage coverage. Overall, the EODHaM classification results encouraged us to derive the heights of all vegetated objects in the Netherlands from LiDAR data, in preparation for new habitat classifications.     

平原地区机载激光雷达数据的抽稀算法分析

目前,机载激光雷达点云数据在测绘行业中的应用还存在较多的瓶颈。为了使机载激光雷达点云数据更好地服务等值线等数据的生产,发挥其高效和高精度的优势,本文归纳、总结了国内外现有的LiDAR点云数据抽稀算法,并通过对比分析现有LiDAR点云数据抽稀算法存在的优缺点,如系统抽稀、格网抽稀、TIN抽稀和坡度抽稀等算法,结合平原地区激光点云在实际生产中的应用,研究了更适合平原地区点云数据的抽稀方法,通过大量的数据测试和试生产。结果表明,该方法可以在应用项目精度约束下保证数据质量,减少了后期数据处理应用的难度,提升了后续成果数据的质量,提高了作业生产效率,对机载激光雷达点云数据在测绘行业中的应用推广具有重要的现实意义。     

基于多尺度虚拟网格与坡度阈值的机载LiDAR点云滤波方法

点云滤波是机载LiDAR数据后处理的基础工作,本文提出一种基于多尺度虚拟网格与坡度阈值的机载LiDAR点云滤波方法。该方法采用类似影像金字塔的方式构建不同尺度即不同分辨率的虚拟网格,各级网格都以每个方格内最低点作为地面种子点,然后根据坡度阈值以分辨率由低到高的方式逐层对种子点进行平滑处理,最后以最高分辨率即最小尺度虚拟网格地面种子点作为基准种子点对整个数据集进行滤波处理。本文分别采用城区与郊区两块机载LiDAR数据进行了实验。实验表明,该方法能够有效地提取出地面点,运算效率也比较高,具有一定的实用价值。     

A comprehensive but efficient framework of proposing and validating feature parameters from airborne LiDAR data for tree species classification

Tree species information is crucial for digital forestry, and efficient techniques for classifying tree species are extensively demanded. To this end, airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) has been introduced. However, the literature review suggests that most of the previous airborne LiDAR-based studies were only based on limited kinds of tree signatures. To address this gap, this study proposed developing a novel modular framework for LiDAR-based tree species classification, by deriving feature parameters in a systematic way. Specifically, feature parameters of point-distribution (PD), laser pulse intensity (IN), crown-internal (CI) and tree-external (TE) structures were proposed and derived. With a support-vector-machine (SVM) classifier used, the classifications were conducted in a leave-one-out-for-cross-validation (LOOCV) mode. Based on the samples of four typical boreal tree species, i.e., Picea abies, Pinus sylvestris, Populus tremula and Quercus robur, tests showed that the accuracies of the classifications based on the acquired PD-, IN-, CI- and TE-categorized feature parameters as well as the integration of their individual optimal parameters are 65.00%, 80.00%, 82.50%, 85.00% and 92.50%, respectively. These results indicate that the procedures proposed in this study can be used as a comprehensive but efficient framework of proposing and validating feature parameters from airborne LiDAR data for tree species classification.     

基于机载LiDAR点云滤波的矿区DEM构建方法

机载Li DAR数据是进行矿山高植被覆盖区地面塌陷调查的有效工具。利用湖南某矿区的机载Li DAR点云数据,提出了一种基于区域分割的渐进三角网滤波构建DEM的方法。首先,对原始机载Li DAR点云数据进行重新组织,以提高邻域点计算效率;其次,结合高程差计算区域统计值,按照地形情况分割测区内的地面点和非地面点,利用地面点构建初始稀疏TIN模型;然后,通过计算其他点与TIN的距离,渐进加密三角网,提取地面点;最后,剔除孤立点,生成格网间距为1 m的DEM。研究结果表明:基于区域分割的渐进三角网滤波构建的DEM能够较为精细地表达地形信息,特别在高植被覆盖区域,能够提取出高精度的真实地表DEM,可更加准确地表达出矿区高植被覆盖区的地表塌陷位置和范围等信息。     

Extraction and motion estimation of vehicles in single-pass airborne LiDAR data towards urban traffic analysis

Airborne LiDAR data are characterized by involving not only rich spatial but also temporal information. It is possible to extract vehicles with motion artifacts from single-pass airborne LiDAR data, based on which the motion state and velocity of vehicles can be identified and derived. In this paper, a complete strategy for urban traffic analysis using airborne LiDAR data is presented. An adaptive 3D segmentation method is presented to facilitate the task of vehicle extraction. The method features an ability to detect local arbitrary modes at multi scales, thereby making it particularly appropriate for partitioning complex point cloud data. Vehicle objects are then extracted by a binary classification using object-based features. Furthermore, the motion analysis for extracted vehicles is performed to distinguish between moving and stationary ones. Finally, the velocity is estimated for moving vehicles. The applicability and efficiency of the presented strategy is demonstrated and evaluated on three ALS datasets acquired for the propose of city mapping, where up to 87% of vehicles have been extracted and up to 83% of moving traffic can be recovered together with reasonable velocity estimates. It can be concluded that airborne LiDAR data can provide value-added products for traffic monitoring applications, including vehicle counts, location and velocity, along with traditional products such as building models, DEMs and vegetation models.     

A hybrid framework for single tree detection from airborne laser scanning data: A case study in temperate mature coniferous forests in Ontario,Canada

This study presents a hybrid framework for single tree detection from airborne laser scanning (ALS) data by integrating low-level image processing techniques into a high-level probabilistic framework. The proposed approach modeled tree crowns in a forest plot as a configuration of circular objects. We took advantage of low-level image processing techniques to generate candidate configurations from the canopy height model (CHM): the treetop positions were sampled within the over-extracted local maxima via local maxima filtering, and the crown sizes were derived from marker-controlled watershed segmentation using corresponding treetops as markers. The configuration containing the best possible set of detected tree objects was estimated by a global optimization solver. To achieve this, we introduced a Gibbs energy, which contains a data term that judges the fitness of the objects with respect to the data, and a prior term that prevents severe overlapping between tree crowns on the configuration space. The energy was then embedded into a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) dynamics coupled with a simulated annealing to find its global minimum. In this research, we also proposed a Monte Carlo-based sampling method for parameter estimation. We tested the method on a temperate mature coniferous forest in Ontario, Canada and also on simulated coniferous forest plots with different degrees of crown overlap. The experimental results showed the effectiveness of our proposed method, which was capable of reducing the commission errors produced by local maxima filtering, thus increasing the overall detection accuracy by approximately 10% on all of the datasets.     

基于机载LiDAR点云的岛礁提取方法

提出一种从机载LiDAR点云数据中提取岛礁点云数据的方法。通过研究机载LiDAR点云中岛礁、海面和噪声数据的局部几何特征,首先对原始数据进行重新组织,提高计算效率。其次对原始数据进行基于高程差的区域平坦度计算,设置阈值过滤大部分海面点与噪声点。最后针对点云数据的疏密程度进行八邻域点云密度过滤,过滤残余离散海面点与噪声点,全面准确地提取出岛礁点云数据。     

A study on the combination of satellite, airborne, and terrestrial gravity data

Satellite gravity missions, such as CHAMP, GRACE and GOCE, and airborne gravity campaigns in areas without ground gravity will enhance the present knowledge of the Earths gravity field. Combining the new gravity information with the existing marine and ground gravity anomalies is a major task for which the mathematical tools have to be developed. In one way or another they will be based on the spectral information available for gravity data and noise. The integration of the additional gravity information from satellite and airborne campaigns with existing data has not been studied in sufficient detail and a number of open questions remain. A strategy for the combination of satellite, airborne and ground measurements is presented. It is based on ideas independently introduced by Sjöberg and Wenzel in the early 1980s and has been modified by using a quasi-deterministic approach for the determination of the weighting functions. In addition, the original approach of Sjöberg and Wenzel is extended to more than two measurement types, combining the Meissl scheme with the least-squares spectral combination. Satellite (or geopotential) harmonics, ground gravity anomalies and airborne gravity disturbances are used as measurement types, but other combinations are possible. Different error characteristics and measurement-type combinations and their impact on the final solution are studied. Using simulated data, the results show a geoid accuracy in the centimeter range for a local test area.     

机载LiDAR技术支持下的荒漠地区1:10 000地形图测绘与研究——以内蒙古阿拉善地区为例

尝试应用机载LiDAR技术测绘1：10 000比例尺地形图3D（DLG、DEM、DOM）产品,给出了机载LiDAR测绘3D产品的技术流程,并选择荒漠地区作为试验区,验证了此种技术方法在荒漠地区测绘3D产品的可行性,分析了成果精度。试验证明,该方法可以满足荒漠区域的1：10 000比例尺3D基础数据生产要求,且具有外业工作量小、自动化程度高、成图快、高程精度高、受外界环境影响小等优点,同时也总结了该方法中有待完善之处。该方法为荒漠地区3D基础测绘数据获取提供了有益借鉴。     

Challenges and lessons from a wetland LiDAR project: a case study of the Okefenokee Swamp,Georgia, USA

Airborne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) provides opportunities to generate high-quality digital elevation models (DEMs) even in wetland environments. Our project, performed over the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia during the spring of 2010, shows that several, distinctive factors must be considered to ensure successful wetland LiDAR projects. Some of the challenges include selecting optimal flight times in accordance with weather variability and water levels, having effective and quality control protocols, applying and developing filtering and interpolation algorithms, breaklines in swamps and accounting for data striping and noise. While some of these issues are faced in any airborne LiDAR acquisition, many of these require special consideration in a low-slope wetland environment with water saturated soils, widespread shallow water, and sediments and extensive vegetation. An examination of these issues and how they were handled will help in ensuring the success of future LiDAR acquisitions and, in particular, will advance knowledge of producing quality DEMs in wetland environments.     

Estimating the spatial distribution,extent and potential lignocellulosic biomass supply of Trees Outside Forests in Baden-Wuerttemberg using airborne LiDAR and OpenStreetMap data

Trees Outside Forests (TOF) represent a source of lignocellulosic biomass that has received increasing attention in the recent years. While some studies have already investigated the potential of TOF in Germany, a spatial explicit analysis, specifically for Baden-Wuerttemberg, is still lacking. We used a unique wall-to-wall airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) dataset combined with OpenStreetMap (OSM) data to map and classify TOF of the federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg (∼35.000 km²) in south-western Germany. Furthermore, from annual biomass potentials of TOF areas collected from available literature, we calculated the mean annual biomass supply for all TOF areas in Baden-Wuerttemberg. This combination of remote sensing-based classification and available literature resulted in a mean annual biomass supply between ∼490,000–730,000 t from TOF in Baden-Wuerttemberg. The classification congruence on three reference sites was very high (∼99%) using a simple filter technique applied to the LiDAR data and masking man-made objects using OSM data. In contrast, the available literature revealed a high variability of biomass potentials, supporting the demand for an inventory system. Still, the results demonstrate the applicability of LiDAR based vegetation mapping and the value of OSM data in Baden-Wuerttemberg to detect man-made objects.     

Mapping wetland characteristics using temporally dense Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 data: A case study in the St. Lucia wetlands,South Africa

Wetlands have been determined as one of the most valuable ecosystems on Earth and are currently being lost at alarming rates. Large-scale monitoring of wetlands is of high importance, but also challenging. The Sentinel-1 and -2 satellite missions for the first time provide radar and optical data at high spatial and temporal detail, and with this a unique opportunity for more accurate wetland mapping from space arises. Recent studies already used Sentinel-1 and -2 data to map specific wetland types or characteristics, but for comprehensive wetland characterisations the potential of the data has not been researched yet. The aim of our research was to study the use of the high-resolution and temporally dense Sentinel-1 and -2 data for wetland mapping in multiple levels of characterisation. The use of the data was assessed by applying Random Forests for multiple classification levels including general wetland delineation, wetland vegetation types and surface water dynamics. The results for the St. Lucia wetlands in South Africa showed that combining Sentinel-1 and -2 led to significantly higher classification accuracies than for using the systems separately. Accuracies were relatively poor for classifications in high-vegetated wetlands, as subcanopy flooding could not be detected with Sentinel-1’s C-band sensors operating in VV/VH mode. When excluding high-vegetated areas, overall accuracies were reached of 88.5% for general wetland delineation, 90.7% for mapping wetland vegetation types and 87.1% for mapping surface water dynamics. Sentinel-2 was particularly of value for general wetland delineation, while Sentinel-1 showed more value for mapping wetland vegetation types. Overlaid maps of all classification levels obtained overall accuracies of 69.1% and 76.4% for classifying ten and seven wetland classes respectively.     

Mapping impervious surfaces with the integrated use of Landsat Thematic Mapper and radar data: A case study in an urban–rural landscape in the Brazilian Amazon

This research explored the integrated use of Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and radar (i.e., ALOS PALSAR L-band and RADARSAT-2 C-band) data for mapping impervious surface distribution to examine the roles of radar data with different spatial resolutions and wavelengths. The wavelet-merging technique was used to merge TM and radar data to generate a new dataset. A constrained least-squares solution was used to unmix TM multispectral data and multisensor fusion images to four fraction images (high-albedo, low-albedo, vegetation, and soil). The impervious surface image was then extracted from the high-albedo and low-albedo fraction images. QuickBird imagery was used to develop an impervious surface image for use as reference data to evaluate the results from TM and fusion images. This research indicated that increasing spatial resolution by multisensor fusion improved spatial patterns of impervious surface distribution, but cannot significantly improve the statistical area accuracy. This research also indicated that the fusion image with 10-m spatial resolution was suitable for mapping impervious surface spatial distribution, but TM multispectral image with 30 m was too coarse in a complex urban–rural landscape. On the other hand, this research showed that no significant difference in improving impervious surface mapping performance by using either PALSAR L-band or RADARSAT C-band data with the same spatial resolution when they were used for multi-sensor fusion with the wavelet-based method.