激光雷达回波模型辅助的坡地森林冠层高度反演

大光斑激光雷达数据已广泛应用于森林冠层高度提取,但通常仅限于地形坡度小于20°的平缓地区。在地形坡度大于20°的陡峭山区,地形引起的波形展宽使得地面回波和植被回波信息混合在一起,给森林冠层高度提取带来巨大挑战。本文利用激光雷达回波模型和地形信息,提出了一种模型辅助的坡地森林冠层高度反演算法。该方法以激光雷达回波信号截止点为参考,定义了波形高度指数H50和H75,使用激光雷达回波模型与已知地形信息模拟裸地的激光雷达回波,将裸地回波信号截止点与森林激光雷达回波信号截止点对齐,利用裸地回波计算常用的波形相对高度指数RH50和RH75,对森林冠层高度进行反演。并与高斯波形分解法和波形参数法的反演结果进行了比较。研究结果表明:(1)利用所提取的波形指数RH50和RH75对胸高断面积加权平均高(Lorey’s height)进行了估算,在坡度小于20°时,高斯波形分解法、波形参数法和模型辅助法的估算结果与实测值线性拟合的相关系数(R2)分别为0.70,0.78和0.98,对应的均方根误差(RMSE)分别为2.90 m,2.48 m和0.60 m,模型辅助法略优于其他两种方法;(2)在坡度大于20°时,高斯波形分解法、波形参数法和模型辅助法的R2分别为0.14,0.28和0.97,相应的RMSE分别为4.93 m,4.53 m和0.81 m,模型辅助法明显优于其他两种方法;(3)在0°—40°时,模型辅助法对Lorey’s height估算结果与实测值的R2为0.97,RMSE为0.80 m。本研究提出的模型辅助法具有更好的地形适应性,在0°—40°的坡度范围内具备对坡地森林冠层高度反演的潜力。     

Fusion of airborne LiDAR and multispectral sensors reveals synergic capabilities in forest structure characterization

Forest stand structure is an important concept for ecology and planning in sustainable forest management. In this article, we consider that the incorporation of complementary multispectral information from optical sensors to Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) may be advantageous, especially through data fusion by back-projecting the LiDAR points onto the multispectral image. A multivariate data set of both LiDAR and multispectral metrics was related with a multivariate data set of stand structural variables measured in a Scots pine forest through canonical correlation analysis (CCA). Four statistically significant pairs of canonical variables were found, which explained 83.0% accumulated variance. The first pair of canonical variables related indicators of stand development, i.e. height and volume, with LiDAR height metrics. CCA also found attributes describing stand density to be related to LiDAR and spectral variables determining canopy coverage. Other canonical variables pertained to Lorenz curve-derived attributes, which are measures of within-stand tree size variability and heterogeneity, able to discriminate even-sized from uneven-sized stands. The most relevant result was to find that metrics derived from the multispectral sensor showed significant explanatory potential for the prediction of these structural attributes. Therefore, we concluded that metrics derived from the optical sensor have potential for complementing the information from the LiDAR sensor in describing structural properties of forest stands. We recommend the use of back-projecting for jointly exploiting the synergies of both sensors using similar types of metrics as they are customary in forestry applications of LiDAR.     

Semi-automated stand delineation in Mediterranean Pinus sylvestris plantations through segmentation of LiDAR data: The influence of pulse density

Traditionally, forest-stand delineation has been assessed based on orthophotography. The application of LiDAR has improved forest management by providing high-spatial-resolution data on the vertical structure of the forest. The aim of this study was to develop and test a semi-automated algorithm for stands delineation in a plantation of Pinus sylvestris L. using LiDAR data. Three specific objectives were evaluated, i) to assess two complementary LiDAR metrics, Assmann dominant height and basal area, for the characterization of the structure of P. sylvestris Mediterranean forests based on object-oriented segmentation, ii) to evaluate the influence of the LiDAR pulse density on forest-stand delineation accuracy, and iii) to investigate the algorithmś effectiveness in the delineation of P. sylvestris stands for map prediction of Assmann dominant height and basal area. Our results show that it is possible to generate accurate P. sylvestris forest-stand segmentations using multiresolution or mean shift segmentation methods, even with low-pulse-density LiDAR − which is an important economic advantage for forest management. However, eCognition multiresolution methods provided better results than the OTB (Orfeo Tool Box) for stand delineation based on dominant height and basal area estimations. Furthermore, the influence of pulse density on the results was not statistically significant in the basal area calculations. However, there was a significant effect of pulse density on Assmann dominant height [F_2,9595 = 5.69, p = 0.003].for low pulse density. We propose that the approach shown here should be considered for stand delineation in other large Pinus plantations in Mediterranean regions with similar characteristics.     

高光谱和LiDAR联合反演森林生物量研究

估算森林地上生物量(AGB)对于全球实现碳中和目标至关重要。本文以美国缅因州Howland森林为研究区域,借助地面实测样地数据,对比分析协同不同数据源(高光谱和LiDAR)和机器学习算法(随机森林、支持向量机、梯度提升决策树和K最邻近回归)的研究,以改善Howland森林的生物量估计精度。结果表明,采用LiDAR和高光谱植被指数变量模型的最佳精度分别为0.874和0.868,协同高光谱和LiDAR变量并采用梯度提升决策树回归模型的精度为0.927,即多源遥感数据要优于单一数据源。高光谱和LiDAR数据的协同使用对于提高类似于Howland地区或更广泛区域的生物量估计的准确性,具有普遍的适用性与一定的应用前景。     

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.     

机载激光雷达平均树高提取研究

为了研究机载激光雷达(LiDAR)树高提取技术,以山东省泰安市徂徕山林场为实验区,于2005年5月进行了机载LiDAR数据获取和外业测量.通过对LiDAR点云数据的分类处理,分别得到了试验区的地面点云子集、植被点云子集和高程归一化的植被点云子集.基于高程归一化的植被点云子集计算了上四分位数处的高度,与实地测量的数据进行了比较,并结合中国森林调查规程进行了实用性分析.结果表明:对于较低密度的点云数据,使用分位数法可以较好地进行林分平均高的估计;机载激光雷达技术对树高估计是可行的,精度都高于87%,总体平均精度为90.59%,其中阔叶树的精度高于针叶树.该试验精度可以满足中国二类森林调查规程中平均树高因子的一般商品林和生态公益林的精度要求,对国有商品林小班的调查精度要求(5%)存在一点差距,需要在国有商品林区进一步开展验证工作.对本试验区而言,已经可以满足其作为森林公园生态公益林的调查要求.     

Estimating forest biomass using small footprint LiDAR data: An individual tree-based approach that incorporates training data

A new individual tree-based algorithm for determining forest biomass using small footprint LiDAR data was developed and tested. This algorithm combines computer vision and optimization techniques to become the first training data-based algorithm specifically designed for processing forest LiDAR data. The computer vision portion of the algorithm uses generic properties of trees in small footprint LiDAR canopy height models (CHMs) to locate trees and find their crown boundaries and heights. The ways in which these generic properties are used for a specific scene and image type is dependent on 11 parameters, nine of which are set using training data and the Nelder–Mead simplex optimization procedure. Training data consist of small sections of the LiDAR data and corresponding ground data. After training, the biomass present in areas without ground measurements is determined by developing a regression equation between properties derived from the LiDAR data of the training stands and biomass, and then applying the equation to the new areas. A first test of this technique was performed using 25 plots (radius = 15 m) in a loblolly pine plantation in central Virginia, USA (37.42N, 78.68W) that was not intensively managed, together with corresponding data from a LiDAR canopy height model (resolution = 0.5 m). Results show correlations (r) between actual and predicted aboveground biomass ranging between 0.59 and 0.82, and RMSEs between 13.6 and 140.4 t/ha depending on the selection of training and testing plots, and the minimum diameter at breast height (7 or 10 cm) of trees included in the biomass estimate. Correlations between LiDAR-derived plot density estimates were low (0.22 ≤ r ≤ 0.56) but generally significant (at a 95% confidence level in most cases, based on a one tailed test), suggesting that the program is able to properly identify trees. Based on the results it is concluded that the validation of the first training data-based algorithm for determining forest biomass using small footprint LiDAR data was a success, and future refinement and testing are merited.     

An object-based approach for mapping forest structural types based on low-density LiDAR and multispectral imagery

Mapping forest structure variables provides important information for the estimation of forest biomass, carbon stocks, pasture suitability or for wildfire risk prevention and control. The optimization of the prediction models of these variables requires an adequate stratification of the forest landscape in order to create specific models for each structural type or strata. This paper aims to propose and validate the use of an object-oriented classification methodology based on low-density LiDAR data (0.5 m^?2) available at national level, WorldView-2 and Sentinel-2 multispectral imagery to categorize Mediterranean forests in generic structural types. After preprocessing the data sets, the area was segmented using a multiresolution algorithm, features describing 3D vertical structure were extracted from LiDAR data and spectral and texture features from satellite images. Objects were classified after feature selection in the following structural classes: grasslands, shrubs, forest (without shrubs), mixed forest (trees and shrubs) and dense young forest. Four classification algorithms (C4.5 decision trees, random forest, k-nearest neighbour and support vector machine) were evaluated using cross-validation techniques. The results show that the integration of low-density LiDAR and multispectral imagery provide a set of complementary features that improve the results (90.75% overall accuracy), and the object-oriented classification techniques are efficient for stratification of Mediterranean forest areas in structural- and fuel-related categories. Further work will be focused on the creation and validation of a different prediction model adapted to the various strata.     

Selection of Forest Stands for Stem Volume Retrieval From Stable ERS Tandem InSAR Observations

Environmental factors influence the accuracy in stem volume retrieval using European Remote Sensing Satellite (ERS) tandem synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometry. Some forest stands are more sensitive than others to heterogeneity of environmental properties, forest properties, and noise. It is shown that the consistency of coherence observations between different image pairs or the consistency of the estimated stem volume can be used to sort forest stands according to increasing errors in stem volume estimates associated with varying forest properties. Fifteen ERS tandem pairs were used to determine the relative root mean square error (RMSE) of stem volume estimated from C-band SAR interferometry. The test site, Tuusula in Finland, contains 210 forest stands with stem volumes up to 539 m³/ha. RMSE varies between 17% and 63% depending on number and type of stands included in the retrieval accuracy analysis. The more homogeneous forest stands with larger area and higher stem volumes of spruce and pine are those with highest retrieval accuracy     

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.     

Calibration of area based diameter distribution with individual tree based diameter estimates using airborne laser scanning

Diameter distribution is essential for calculating stem volume and timber assortments of forest stands. A new method was proposed in this study to improve the estimation of stem volume and timber assortments, by means of combining the Area-based approach (ABA) and individual tree detection (ITD), the two main approaches to deriving forest attributes from airborne laser scanning (ALS) data. Two methods, replacement, and histogram matching were employed to calibrate ABA-derived diameter distributions with ITD-derived diameter estimates at plot level. The results showed that more accurate estimates were obtained when calibrations were applied. In view of the highest accuracy between ABA and ITD, calibrated diameter distributions decreased its relative RMSE of the estimated entire growing stock, saw log and pulpwood fractions by 2.81%, 3.05% and 7.73% points at best, respectively. Calibration improved pulpwood fraction significantly, which contributed to the negligible bias of the estimated entire growing stock.     

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。     

Boreal forest coherence-based measures of interferometric pair suitability for operational stem volume retrieval

The performance of interferometric synthetic aperture radar (INSAR)-based boreal forest stem volume retrieval is strongly affected by weather conditions around the time of the SAR image acquisitions. Since weather conditions cannot be controlled, the suitability of a particular interferometric pair for stem volume retrieval can only be assessed afterward. In this letter, four objective measures based on observed forest coherence were compared in assessing the suitability of interferometric pairs for stem volume retrieval. These suitability measures can be used to identify the best and worst pairs, i.e., the ones with the most and least favorable weather conditions. Stem volume retrievals were performed using single European Remote Sensing (ERS-1/2) Tandem interferometric pairs by inverting a backscattering-coherence model for boreal forests. A total of 14 ERS Tandem image pairs acquired in varying weather conditions were studied, and the stem volume retrieval performance was assessed against ground-based stem volume estimates on 134 boreal forest stands. Stem volume retrieval performance as measured by R/sup 2/-values between INSAR-estimated stem volumes and ground truth was found to be directly proportional to boreal forest coherence. The interferometric coherence-contrast (ICC), i.e., the difference in coherence between sparsest and densest boreal forest stands was found to be the best of the four studied suitability measures. The ICC could be used as a suitability parameter in the selection of the best interferometric pairs for operational boreal forest stem volume retrieval.     

Detecting understory plant invasion in urban forests using LiDAR

Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data are increasingly used to measure structural characteristics of urban forests but are rarely used to detect the growing problem of exotic understory plant invaders. We explored the merits of using LiDAR-derived metrics alone and through integration with spectral data to detect the spatial distribution of the exotic understory plant Ligustrum sinense, a rapidly spreading invader in the urbanizing region of Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. We analyzed regional-scale L. sinense occurrence data collected over the course of three years with LiDAR-derived metrics of forest structure that were categorized into the following groups: overstory, understory, topography, and overall vegetation characteristics, and IKONOS spectral features – optical. Using random forest (RF) and logistic regression (LR) classifiers, we assessed the relative contributions of LiDAR and IKONOS derived variables to the detection of L. sinense. We compared the top performing models developed for a smaller, nested experimental extent using RF and LR classifiers, and used the best overall model to produce a predictive map of the spatial distribution of L. sinense across our country-wide study extent. RF classification of LiDAR-derived topography metrics produced the highest mapping accuracy estimates, outperforming IKONOS data by 17.5% and the integration of LiDAR and IKONOS data by 5.3%. The top performing model from the RF classifier produced the highest kappa of 64.8%, improving on the parsimonious LR model kappa by 31.1% with a moderate gain of 6.2% over the county extent model. Our results demonstrate the superiority of LiDAR-derived metrics over spectral data and fusion of LiDAR and spectral data for accurately mapping the spatial distribution of the forest understory invader L. sinense.     

Estimation of aboveground biomass of Robinia pseudoacacia forest in the Yellow River Delta based on UAV and Backpack LiDAR point clouds

Forest plantations are an important source of terrestrial carbon sequestration. The forest of Robinia pseudoacacia in the Yellow River Delta (YRD) is the largest artificial ecological protection forest in China. However, more than half of the forest has appeared different degrees of dieback and even death since the 1990s. Timely and accurate estimation of the forest aboveground biomass (AGB) is a basis for studying the carbon cycle of forests. Light Detecting and Ranging (LiDAR) has been proved to be one of the most powerful methods for forest biomass estimation. However, because of an irregular and overlapping shape of the broadleaved forest canopy in a growing season, it is difficult to segment individual trees and estimate the tree biomass from airborne LiDAR data. In this study, a new method was proposed to solve this problem of individual tree detection in the Robinia pseudoacacia forest based on a combination of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle-Light Detecting and Ranging (UAV-LiDAR) with the Backpack-LiDAR. The proposed method mainly consists of following steps: (i) at a plot level, trees in the UAV-LiDAR data were detected by seed points obtained by an individual tree segmentation (ITS) method from the Backpack-LiDAR data; (ii) height and diameter at breast height (DBH) of an individual tree would be extracted from UAV and Backpack LiDAR data, respectively; (iii) the individual tree AGB would be calculated through an allometric equation and the forest AGB at the plot level was accumulated; and (iv) the plot-level forest AGB was taken as a dependent variable, and various metrics extracted from UAV-LiDAR point cloud data as independent variables to estimate forest AGB distribution in the study area by using both multiple linear regression (MLR) and random forest (RF) models. The results demonstrate that: (1) the seed points extracted from Backpack-LiDAR could significantly improve the overall accuracy of individual tree detection (F = 0.99), and thus increase the forest AGB estimation accuracy; (2) compared with MLR model, the RF model led to a higher estimation accuracy (p < 0.05); and (3) LiDAR intensity information selected by both MLR and RF models and laser penetration rate (LP) played an important role in estimating healthy forest AGB.     

Estimation of forest leaf water content through inversion of a radiative transfer model from LiDAR and hyperspectral data

The accurate estimation of leaf water content (LWC) and knowledge about its spatial variation are important for forest and agricultural management since LWC provides key information for evaluating plant physiology. Hyperspectral data have been widely used to estimate LWC. However, the canopy reflectance can be affected by canopy structure, thereby introducing error to the retrieval of LWC from hyperspectral data alone. Radiative transfer models (RTM) provide a robust approach to combine LiDAR and hyperspectral data in order to address the confounding effects caused by the variation of canopy structure. In this study, the INFORM model was adjusted to retrieve LWC from airborne hyperspectral and LiDAR data. Two structural parameters (i.e. stem density and crown diameter) in the input of the INFORM model that affect canopy reflectance most were replaced by canopy cover which could be directly obtained from LiDAR data. The LiDAR-derived canopy cover was used to constrain in the inversion procedure to alleviate the ill-posed problem. The models were validated against field measurements obtained from 26 forest plots and then used to map LWC in the southern part of the Bavarian Forest National Park in Germany. The results show that with the introduction of prior information of canopy cover obtained from LiDAR data, LWC could be retrieved with a good accuracy (R² = 0.87, RMSE = 0.0022 g/cm², nRMSE = 0.13). The adjustment of the INFORM model facilitated the introduction of prior information over a large extent, as the estimation of canopy cover can be achieved from airborne LiDAR data.     

TEXTURE OF FOREST COMMUNITIES ON AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS

The authors discuss a method by which the image characteristics of forest vegetation can be used to determine various valuational characteristics of forest stands through the combination of air photo interpretation and ground surveys at selected training sites. Construction of curves showing changes in image texture and tone occurring at different stages in the growth cycle of a pine forest community are used to estimate the age of a forest stand, and through known relationships between age and other stand characteristics incorporated into yield tables, to approximate such valuational characteristics as mean diameter, mean height, and stand volume. Translated from: Distantsionnyye issledovaniya rel'yefa Sibiri, A. L. Yanshin and V. N. Sharanov, eds. Novosibirsk, Nauka, 1985, pp. 73-78.     

Wall-to-wall spatial prediction of growing stock volume based on Italian National Forest Inventory plots and remotely sensed data

Spatial predictions of forest variables are required for supporting modern national and sub-national forest planning strategies, especially in the framework of a climate change scenario. Nowadays methods for constructing wall-to-wall maps and calculating small-area estimates of forest parameters are becoming essential components of most advanced National Forest Inventory (NFI) programs. Such methods are based on the assumption of a relationship between the forest variables and predictor variables that are available for the entire forest area. Many commonly used predictors are based on data obtained from active or passive remote sensing technologies. Italy has almost 40% of its land area covered by forests. Because of the great diversity of Italian forests with respect to composition, structure and management and underlying climatic, morphological and soil conditions, a relevant question is whether methods successfully used in less complex temperate and boreal forests may be applied successfully at country level in Italy.For a study area of more than 48,657 km² in central Italy of which 43% is covered by forest, the study presents the results of a test regarding wall-to-wall, spatially explicit estimation of forest growing stock volume (GSV) based on field measurement of 1350 plots during the last Italian NFI. For the same area, we used potential predictor variables that are available across the whole of Italy: cloud-free mosaics of multispectral optical satellite imagery (Landsat 5 TM), microwave sensor data (JAXA PALSAR), a canopy height model (CHM) from satellite LiDAR, and auxiliary variables from climate, temperature and precipitation maps, soil maps, and a digital terrain model.Two non-parametric (random forests and k-NN) and two parametric (multiple linear regression and geographically weighted regression) prediction methods were tested to produce wall-to-wall map of growing stock volume at 23-m resolution. Pixel level predictions were used to produce small-area, province-level model-assisted estimates. The performances of all the methods were compared in terms of percent root mean-square error using a leave-one-out procedure and an independent dataset was used for validation. Results were comparable to those available for other ecological regions using similar predictors, but random forests produced the most accurate results with a pixel level R² = 0.69 and RMSE_% = 37.2% against the independent validation dataset. Model-assisted estimates were more precise than the original design-based estimates provided by the NFI.     

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。