Tree architecture and biomass assessment from terrestrial LiDAR measurements: a case study for some Beech trees (Fagus sylvatica)

摘要

The assessment of the spatial distribution of the tree biomass by means of terrestrial LiDAR scanning in forest environment still remains a challenge. This paper aims at presenting a method coupling terrestrial LiDAR measurements (FARO LS 880 HE) to a point cloud processing software (InnovMetric Software Inc., PolyWorks) allowing for tree architecture and wood volume distribution modeling, at the tree scale, for two Beech trees (Fagus sylvatica). This method is compared to a detailed and labour-intensive way of tree biomass distribution assessment (tacheometer and manual measurements), considered here as the reference. Our results quantify the appropriateness of the T-LiDAR method to estimate wood volumes and to correctly represent the three-dimensional architecture of a tree and the spatial distribution of its woody biomass. However, some measurement parameters must be carefully considered and further refinements are still needed to automate the extraction of information from point clouds.