Estimating number of trees, tree height and crown width using Lidar data

Figures & data

Figure 1. Location of Barksdale Air Force Base in Northwest Louisiana.

Figure 2. Tiffs DSM of tile 115.

Figure 3. Tiffs DEM of tile 115.

Figure 4. Tiffs OHM of tile 115.

Figure 5. Lidar Analyst LAS layer of tile 115.

Figure 6. Lidar Analyst bare earth DEM of tile 115.

Figure 7. Lidar Analyst derived trees overlaid on top of a QuickBird image of tile 115.

Table 1. Correlation between field measured tree count per plot and Tiffs and Lidar Analyst derived estimates.

Software package	Cover type	Sample size (n)	Linear correlation (r)	RMSE (tree count)
Tiffs	All Species	111	0.120	5.71
	Conifer	65	0.191	n/a
	Hardwood	46	−0.364	n/a
Lidar Analyst	All Species	111	0.373*	3.81
	Conifer	65	0.270	n/a
	Hardwood	46	−0.046	n/a

Note: *Statistically significant at 0.01.

Table 2. Correlation between field measured average tree height per plot and Tiffs and Lidar Analyst derived estimates.

Software package	Cover type	Sample size (n)	Linear correlation (r)	RMSE (feet)
Tiffs	All Species	111	0.670*	19.08
	Conifer	65	0.727*	n/a
	Hardwood	46	0.589*	n/a
Lidar Analyst	All Species	111	0.691*	21.20
	Conifer	65	0.654*	n/a
	Hardwood	46	0.547*	n/a

Note: *Statistically significant at 0.01.

Table 3. Correlation between field measured average crown width per plot and Tiffs and Lidar Analyst derived estimates.

Software package	Cover type	Sample size (n)	Linear correlation (r)	RMSE (feet)
Tiffs	All Species	60	0.128	30.54
	Conifer	39	−0.078	n/a
	Hardwood	21	0.317	n/a
Lidar Analyst	All Species	60	0.120	25.41
	Conifer	39	0.094	n/a
	Hardwood	21	−0.144	n/a

Note: *Statistically significant at 0.01.