ICESat-2 Performance for Terrain and Canopy Height Retrieval in Complex Mountainous Environments
Accurate estimation of forest canopy height and understory terrain in mountainous regions is crucial for carbon stock assessment under the Paris Agreement but remains challenging. This study aimed to evaluate ICESat-2’s performance in these complex environments. To achieve this, ICESat-2 ATL03 Versi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/11/1897 |
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| _version_ | 1850128973037568000 |
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| author | Lianjin Fu Qingtai Shu Cuifen Xia Zeyu Li Xiao Zhang Yiran Zhang |
| author_facet | Lianjin Fu Qingtai Shu Cuifen Xia Zeyu Li Xiao Zhang Yiran Zhang |
| author_sort | Lianjin Fu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Accurate estimation of forest canopy height and understory terrain in mountainous regions is crucial for carbon stock assessment under the Paris Agreement but remains challenging. This study aimed to evaluate ICESat-2’s performance in these complex environments. To achieve this, ICESat-2 ATL03 Version 6 photon data were processed using a novel adaptive DBSCAN algorithm (BDT-ADBSCAN) in Pu’er City, China, a biodiversity hotspot, and results were validated against airborne LiDAR. ICESat-2 achieved high terrain retrieval accuracy (R<sup>2</sup> = 1.00, RMSE = 0.91 m), primarily affected by slope, while canopy height retrieval was less accurate (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.53, RMSE = 6.45 m) with systematic underestimation, mainly influenced by canopy height itself. Nighttime strong-beam acquisitions substantially improved accuracies for both products. This research demonstrates ICESat-2’s viability for high-resolution digital terrain modeling and provides quality control thresholds for forest structure estimation in challenging regions, addressing validation gaps in Asian biodiversity hotspots and supporting carbon monitoring for UN Sustainable Development Goals. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-025cfabd276c477ea20b7e8f72651059 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj-art-025cfabd276c477ea20b7e8f726510592025-08-20T02:33:08ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922025-05-011711189710.3390/rs17111897ICESat-2 Performance for Terrain and Canopy Height Retrieval in Complex Mountainous EnvironmentsLianjin Fu0Qingtai Shu1Cuifen Xia2Zeyu Li3Xiao Zhang4Yiran Zhang5College of Soil and Water Conservation, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, ChinaCollege of Forestry, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, ChinaCollege of Forestry, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, ChinaCollege of Soil and Water Conservation, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, ChinaCollege of Soil and Water Conservation, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, ChinaCollege of Soil and Water Conservation, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, ChinaAccurate estimation of forest canopy height and understory terrain in mountainous regions is crucial for carbon stock assessment under the Paris Agreement but remains challenging. This study aimed to evaluate ICESat-2’s performance in these complex environments. To achieve this, ICESat-2 ATL03 Version 6 photon data were processed using a novel adaptive DBSCAN algorithm (BDT-ADBSCAN) in Pu’er City, China, a biodiversity hotspot, and results were validated against airborne LiDAR. ICESat-2 achieved high terrain retrieval accuracy (R<sup>2</sup> = 1.00, RMSE = 0.91 m), primarily affected by slope, while canopy height retrieval was less accurate (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.53, RMSE = 6.45 m) with systematic underestimation, mainly influenced by canopy height itself. Nighttime strong-beam acquisitions substantially improved accuracies for both products. This research demonstrates ICESat-2’s viability for high-resolution digital terrain modeling and provides quality control thresholds for forest structure estimation in challenging regions, addressing validation gaps in Asian biodiversity hotspots and supporting carbon monitoring for UN Sustainable Development Goals.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/11/1897ICESat-2terrain retrievalcanopy heightcomplex terrainLiDARaccuracy assessment |
| spellingShingle | Lianjin Fu Qingtai Shu Cuifen Xia Zeyu Li Xiao Zhang Yiran Zhang ICESat-2 Performance for Terrain and Canopy Height Retrieval in Complex Mountainous Environments Remote Sensing ICESat-2 terrain retrieval canopy height complex terrain LiDAR accuracy assessment |
| title | ICESat-2 Performance for Terrain and Canopy Height Retrieval in Complex Mountainous Environments |
| title_full | ICESat-2 Performance for Terrain and Canopy Height Retrieval in Complex Mountainous Environments |
| title_fullStr | ICESat-2 Performance for Terrain and Canopy Height Retrieval in Complex Mountainous Environments |
| title_full_unstemmed | ICESat-2 Performance for Terrain and Canopy Height Retrieval in Complex Mountainous Environments |
| title_short | ICESat-2 Performance for Terrain and Canopy Height Retrieval in Complex Mountainous Environments |
| title_sort | icesat 2 performance for terrain and canopy height retrieval in complex mountainous environments |
| topic | ICESat-2 terrain retrieval canopy height complex terrain LiDAR accuracy assessment |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/11/1897 |
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