Single-Pass UAV-Borne GatorEye LiDAR Sampling as a Rapid Assessment Method for Surveying Forest Structure
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) allow efficient acquisition of forest data at very high resolution at relatively low cost, making it useful for multi-temporal assessment of detailed tree crowns and forest structure. Single-pass flight plans provide rapid surveys for key selected high-priority areas,...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-12-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/24/4111 |
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| author | Gabriel Atticciati Prata Eben North Broadbent Danilo Roberti Alves de Almeida Joseph St. Peter Jason Drake Paul Medley Ana Paula Dalla Corte Jason Vogel Ajay Sharma Carlos Alberto Silva Angelica Maria Almeyda Zambrano Ruben Valbuena Ben Wilkinson |
| author_facet | Gabriel Atticciati Prata Eben North Broadbent Danilo Roberti Alves de Almeida Joseph St. Peter Jason Drake Paul Medley Ana Paula Dalla Corte Jason Vogel Ajay Sharma Carlos Alberto Silva Angelica Maria Almeyda Zambrano Ruben Valbuena Ben Wilkinson |
| author_sort | Gabriel Atticciati Prata |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) allow efficient acquisition of forest data at very high resolution at relatively low cost, making it useful for multi-temporal assessment of detailed tree crowns and forest structure. Single-pass flight plans provide rapid surveys for key selected high-priority areas, but their accuracy is still unexplored. We compared aircraft-borne LiDAR with GatorEye UAV-borne LiDAR in the Apalachicola National Forest, USA. The single-pass approach produced digital terrain models (DTMs), with less than 1 m differences compared to the aircraft-derived DTM within a 145° field of view (FOV). Canopy height models (CHM) provided reliable information from the top layer of the forest, allowing reliable treetop detection up to wide angles; however, underestimations of tree heights were detected at 175 m from the flightline, with an error of 2.57 ± 1.57. Crown segmentation was reliable only within a 60° FOV, from which the shadowing effect made it unviable. Reasonable quality threshold values for LiDAR products were: 195 m (145° FOV) for DTMs, 95 m (110° FOV) for CHM, 160 to 180 m (~140° FOV) for ITD and tree heights, and 40 to 60 m (~60° FOV) for crown delineation. These findings also support the definition of mission parameters for standard grid-based flight plans under similar forest types and flight parameters. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:01:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-08503e133a214037beaaeb99ad361d25 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:01:39Z |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-08503e133a214037beaaeb99ad361d252023-11-21T01:04:42ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922020-12-011224411110.3390/rs12244111Single-Pass UAV-Borne GatorEye LiDAR Sampling as a Rapid Assessment Method for Surveying Forest StructureGabriel Atticciati Prata0Eben North Broadbent1Danilo Roberti Alves de Almeida2Joseph St. Peter3Jason Drake4Paul Medley5Ana Paula Dalla Corte6Jason Vogel7Ajay Sharma8Carlos Alberto Silva9Angelica Maria Almeyda Zambrano10Ruben Valbuena11Ben Wilkinson12Spatial Ecology and Conservation (SPEC) Lab, School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USASpatial Ecology and Conservation (SPEC) Lab, School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USASpatial Ecology and Conservation (SPEC) Lab, School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USACenter for Spatial Ecology and Restoration (CSER), School of the Environment, Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL 32307, USACenter for Spatial Ecology and Restoration (CSER), School of the Environment, Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL 32307, USACenter for Spatial Ecology and Restoration (CSER), School of the Environment, Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL 32307, USASpatial Ecology and Conservation (SPEC) Lab, School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USASchool of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USAWest Florida Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Milton, FL 32583, USASchool of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USASpatial Ecology and Conservation (SPEC) Lab, Center for Latin American Studies, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USASchool of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor LL57 2UW, UKGeomatics Program, School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USAUnmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) allow efficient acquisition of forest data at very high resolution at relatively low cost, making it useful for multi-temporal assessment of detailed tree crowns and forest structure. Single-pass flight plans provide rapid surveys for key selected high-priority areas, but their accuracy is still unexplored. We compared aircraft-borne LiDAR with GatorEye UAV-borne LiDAR in the Apalachicola National Forest, USA. The single-pass approach produced digital terrain models (DTMs), with less than 1 m differences compared to the aircraft-derived DTM within a 145° field of view (FOV). Canopy height models (CHM) provided reliable information from the top layer of the forest, allowing reliable treetop detection up to wide angles; however, underestimations of tree heights were detected at 175 m from the flightline, with an error of 2.57 ± 1.57. Crown segmentation was reliable only within a 60° FOV, from which the shadowing effect made it unviable. Reasonable quality threshold values for LiDAR products were: 195 m (145° FOV) for DTMs, 95 m (110° FOV) for CHM, 160 to 180 m (~140° FOV) for ITD and tree heights, and 40 to 60 m (~60° FOV) for crown delineation. These findings also support the definition of mission parameters for standard grid-based flight plans under similar forest types and flight parameters.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/24/4111single-passunmanned aerial vehiclesALSdroneGatorEyecanopy height model |
| spellingShingle | Gabriel Atticciati Prata Eben North Broadbent Danilo Roberti Alves de Almeida Joseph St. Peter Jason Drake Paul Medley Ana Paula Dalla Corte Jason Vogel Ajay Sharma Carlos Alberto Silva Angelica Maria Almeyda Zambrano Ruben Valbuena Ben Wilkinson Single-Pass UAV-Borne GatorEye LiDAR Sampling as a Rapid Assessment Method for Surveying Forest Structure Remote Sensing single-pass unmanned aerial vehicles ALS drone GatorEye canopy height model |
| title | Single-Pass UAV-Borne GatorEye LiDAR Sampling as a Rapid Assessment Method for Surveying Forest Structure |
| title_full | Single-Pass UAV-Borne GatorEye LiDAR Sampling as a Rapid Assessment Method for Surveying Forest Structure |
| title_fullStr | Single-Pass UAV-Borne GatorEye LiDAR Sampling as a Rapid Assessment Method for Surveying Forest Structure |
| title_full_unstemmed | Single-Pass UAV-Borne GatorEye LiDAR Sampling as a Rapid Assessment Method for Surveying Forest Structure |
| title_short | Single-Pass UAV-Borne GatorEye LiDAR Sampling as a Rapid Assessment Method for Surveying Forest Structure |
| title_sort | single pass uav borne gatoreye lidar sampling as a rapid assessment method for surveying forest structure |
| topic | single-pass unmanned aerial vehicles ALS drone GatorEye canopy height model |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/24/4111 |
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