Forest terrain and canopy height estimation using stereo images and spaceborne LiDAR data from GF-7 satellite
ABSTRACTAccurate estimation of forest terrain and canopy height is crucial for timely understanding of forest growth. Gao Fen-7 (GF-7) Satellite is China’s first sub-meter-level three-dimensional (3D) mapping satellite for civilian use, which was equipped with a two-line-array stereo mapping camera...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Group
2023-09-01
|
| Series: | Geo-spatial Information Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/10095020.2023.2249037 |
| _version_ | 1797692279157161984 |
|---|---|
| author | Liming Du Yong Pang Wenjian Ni Xiaojun Liang Zengyuan Li Juan Suarez Wei Wei |
| author_facet | Liming Du Yong Pang Wenjian Ni Xiaojun Liang Zengyuan Li Juan Suarez Wei Wei |
| author_sort | Liming Du |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACTAccurate estimation of forest terrain and canopy height is crucial for timely understanding of forest growth. Gao Fen-7 (GF-7) Satellite is China’s first sub-meter-level three-dimensional (3D) mapping satellite for civilian use, which was equipped with a two-line-array stereo mapping camera and a laser altimeter system that can provide stereo images and full waveform LiDAR data simultaneously. Most of the existing studies have concentrated on evaluating the accuracy of GF-7 for topographic survey in bare land, but few have in-depth studied its ability to measure forest terrain elevation and canopy height. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the potential of GF-7 LiDAR and stereo image for forest terrain and height measurement. The Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) data were utilized to generate reference terrain and forest vertical information. The validation test was conducted in Pu’er City, Yunnan Province of China, and encouraging results have obtained. The GF-7 LiDAR data obtained the accuracy of forest terrain elevation with RMSE of 8.01 m when 21 available laser footprints were used for results verification; meanwhile, when it was used to calculate the forest height, R2 of 0.84 and RMSE of 3.2 m were obtained although only seven effective footprints were used for result verification. The canopy height values obtained from GF-7 stereo images have also been proven to have high accuracy with the resolution of 20 m × 20 m compared with ALS data (R2 = 0.88, RMSE = 2.98 m). When the results were verified at the forest sub-compartment scale that taking into account the forest types, further higher accuracy (R2 = 0.96, RMSE = 1.23 m) was obtained. These results show that GF-7 has considerable application potential in forest resources monitoring. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T02:25:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b672973c7e574a06a3682fff1c4918f8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1009-5020 1993-5153 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T02:25:22Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geo-spatial Information Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-b672973c7e574a06a3682fff1c4918f82023-09-05T15:24:38ZengTaylor & Francis GroupGeo-spatial Information Science1009-50201993-51532023-09-0111110.1080/10095020.2023.2249037Forest terrain and canopy height estimation using stereo images and spaceborne LiDAR data from GF-7 satelliteLiming Du0Yong Pang1Wenjian Ni2Xiaojun Liang3Zengyuan Li4Juan Suarez5Wei Wei6Institute of Forest Resource Information Techniques, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, ChinaInstitute of Forest Resource Information Techniques, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science, Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaInstitute of Forest Resource Information Techniques, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, ChinaInstitute of Forest Resource Information Techniques, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, ChinaForest Research, Northern Research Station, Midlothian, UKInstitute of Science and Technology Information, Yunnan Academy of Forestry and Grassland, Kunming, ChinaABSTRACTAccurate estimation of forest terrain and canopy height is crucial for timely understanding of forest growth. Gao Fen-7 (GF-7) Satellite is China’s first sub-meter-level three-dimensional (3D) mapping satellite for civilian use, which was equipped with a two-line-array stereo mapping camera and a laser altimeter system that can provide stereo images and full waveform LiDAR data simultaneously. Most of the existing studies have concentrated on evaluating the accuracy of GF-7 for topographic survey in bare land, but few have in-depth studied its ability to measure forest terrain elevation and canopy height. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the potential of GF-7 LiDAR and stereo image for forest terrain and height measurement. The Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) data were utilized to generate reference terrain and forest vertical information. The validation test was conducted in Pu’er City, Yunnan Province of China, and encouraging results have obtained. The GF-7 LiDAR data obtained the accuracy of forest terrain elevation with RMSE of 8.01 m when 21 available laser footprints were used for results verification; meanwhile, when it was used to calculate the forest height, R2 of 0.84 and RMSE of 3.2 m were obtained although only seven effective footprints were used for result verification. The canopy height values obtained from GF-7 stereo images have also been proven to have high accuracy with the resolution of 20 m × 20 m compared with ALS data (R2 = 0.88, RMSE = 2.98 m). When the results were verified at the forest sub-compartment scale that taking into account the forest types, further higher accuracy (R2 = 0.96, RMSE = 1.23 m) was obtained. These results show that GF-7 has considerable application potential in forest resources monitoring.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/10095020.2023.2249037Gao Fen-7 (GF-7)spaceborne LiDARstereo imageAirborne Laser Scanning (ALS)forest heightPu’er |
| spellingShingle | Liming Du Yong Pang Wenjian Ni Xiaojun Liang Zengyuan Li Juan Suarez Wei Wei Forest terrain and canopy height estimation using stereo images and spaceborne LiDAR data from GF-7 satellite Geo-spatial Information Science Gao Fen-7 (GF-7) spaceborne LiDAR stereo image Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) forest height Pu’er |
| title | Forest terrain and canopy height estimation using stereo images and spaceborne LiDAR data from GF-7 satellite |
| title_full | Forest terrain and canopy height estimation using stereo images and spaceborne LiDAR data from GF-7 satellite |
| title_fullStr | Forest terrain and canopy height estimation using stereo images and spaceborne LiDAR data from GF-7 satellite |
| title_full_unstemmed | Forest terrain and canopy height estimation using stereo images and spaceborne LiDAR data from GF-7 satellite |
| title_short | Forest terrain and canopy height estimation using stereo images and spaceborne LiDAR data from GF-7 satellite |
| title_sort | forest terrain and canopy height estimation using stereo images and spaceborne lidar data from gf 7 satellite |
| topic | Gao Fen-7 (GF-7) spaceborne LiDAR stereo image Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) forest height Pu’er |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/10095020.2023.2249037 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT limingdu forestterrainandcanopyheightestimationusingstereoimagesandspacebornelidardatafromgf7satellite AT yongpang forestterrainandcanopyheightestimationusingstereoimagesandspacebornelidardatafromgf7satellite AT wenjianni forestterrainandcanopyheightestimationusingstereoimagesandspacebornelidardatafromgf7satellite AT xiaojunliang forestterrainandcanopyheightestimationusingstereoimagesandspacebornelidardatafromgf7satellite AT zengyuanli forestterrainandcanopyheightestimationusingstereoimagesandspacebornelidardatafromgf7satellite AT juansuarez forestterrainandcanopyheightestimationusingstereoimagesandspacebornelidardatafromgf7satellite AT weiwei forestterrainandcanopyheightestimationusingstereoimagesandspacebornelidardatafromgf7satellite |