Methods for separating orchards from forest using airborne LiDAR
Key message
The aim of the study was to distinguish orchards from other lands with forest vegetation based on the data from airborne laser scanning. The methods based on granulometry provided better results than the pattern analysis. The analysis based on the Forest Data Bank/Cadastre polygons provided better results than the analysis based on the segmentation polygons. Classification of orchards and other areas with forest vegetation is important in the context of reporting forest area to international organizations, forest management, and mitigating effects of climate change.
Abstract
Context Agricultural lands with forest vegetation, e.g., orchards, do not constitute forests according to the forest definition formulated by the national and international definitions, but contrary to the one formulated in the Kyoto Protocol. It is a reason for the inconsistency in the forest area reported by individual countries.
Aims The aim of the study was to distinguish orchards from other lands with forest vegetation based on the data from airborne laser scanning.
Methods The study analyzed the usefulness of various laser scanning products and the various features of pattern and granulometric analysis in the Milicz forest district in Poland.
Results The methods based on granulometry provided better results than the pattern analysis. The analysis based on the Forest Data Bank/Cadastre polygons provided better results than the analysis based on the segmentation polygons.
Conclusion Granulometric analysis has proved to be a useful tool in the classification of orchards and other areas with forest vegetation. It is important in the context of reporting forest area to international organizations, forest management, and mitigating effects of climate change.
Keywords
Lidar; Intensity; Pattern analysis; Texture; Granulometry; Orchards
Publication
Hycza, T., Kupidura, P. Methods for separating orchards from forest using airborne LiDAR. Annals of Forest Science 78, 101 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13595-021-01116-6
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Data and/or Code availability
Data are the property of the Forest Research Institute and may be shared with permission of the Director of the Forest Research Institute.
Handling Editor
Barry A. Gardiner
