TY - JOUR
T1 - Understanding the effects of als pulse density for metric retrieval across diverse forest types
AU - Wilkes, Phil
AU - Jones, Simon D.
AU - Suarez, Lola
AU - Haywood, Andrew
AU - Woodgate, William
AU - Soto-Berelov, Mariela
AU - Mellor, Andrew
AU - Skidmore, Andrew K.
PY - 2015/8
Y1 - 2015/8
N2 - Pulse density, the number of laser pulses that intercept a surface per unit area, is a key consideration when acquiring an Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) dataset. This study compares area-based vegetation structure metrics derived from multireturn ALS simulated at six pulse densities (0.05 to 4 pl m-2) across a range of forest types: from savannah woodlands to dense rainforests. Results suggest that accurate measurement of structure metrics (canopy height, canopy cover, and vertical canopy structure) can be achieved with a pulse density of 0.5 pl m-2 across all forest types when compared to a dataset of 10 pl m-2. For pulse densities <0.5 pl m-2, two main sources of error lead to inaccuracies in estimation: the poor identification of the ground surface and sparse vegetation cover leading to under sampling of the canopy profile. This analysis provides useful information for land managers determining capture specifications for large-area ALS acquisitions.
AB - Pulse density, the number of laser pulses that intercept a surface per unit area, is a key consideration when acquiring an Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) dataset. This study compares area-based vegetation structure metrics derived from multireturn ALS simulated at six pulse densities (0.05 to 4 pl m-2) across a range of forest types: from savannah woodlands to dense rainforests. Results suggest that accurate measurement of structure metrics (canopy height, canopy cover, and vertical canopy structure) can be achieved with a pulse density of 0.5 pl m-2 across all forest types when compared to a dataset of 10 pl m-2. For pulse densities <0.5 pl m-2, two main sources of error lead to inaccuracies in estimation: the poor identification of the ground surface and sparse vegetation cover leading to under sampling of the canopy profile. This analysis provides useful information for land managers determining capture specifications for large-area ALS acquisitions.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84938566150&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.14358/PERS.81.8.625
DO - 10.14358/PERS.81.8.625
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84938566150
VL - 81
SP - 625
EP - 635
JO - Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing
JF - Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing
SN - 0099-1112
IS - 8
ER -