Timber inventory in wet eucalypt forest using small footprint LiDAR
This study investigated timber volume estimation in mixed age (mature and regrowth) wet eucalypt forest using small-footprint LiDAR data. A range of descriptive statistics derived from LiDAR return pseudo waveforms were used to develop volume prediction models. The utility of LiDAR data acquired in two flight configurations was also explored. Overall, modelled volume estimates compared favourably with estimates derived using existing inventory methods; however the mature and regrowth volume components were best described using different independent variables. Flight configuration had little impact on either model derivation or performance. This study forms part of a broader examination of the potential to inventory a range of forest metrics using airborne remote sensing and illustrates a variety of analysis techniques that can be applied to LiDAR data.