Assessing the consistency of low vegetation characteristics estimated using harvester, handheld, and drone light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems
Evaluating the potential of a harvester-mounted LiDAR system in monitoring biodiversity indicators such as low vegetation during forest harvesting could enhance sustainable forest management and habitat conservation including dense forest areas for game. However, there is a lack of understanding on...
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| Language: | English |
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Finnish Society of Forest Science
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Silva Fennica |
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| Online Access: | https://www.silvafennica.fi/article/25013 |
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| author | Binod Kafle Ville Kankare Harri Kaartinen Kari Väätäinen Heikki Hyyti Tamas Faitli Juha Hyyppä Antero Kukko Kalle Kärhä |
| author_facet | Binod Kafle Ville Kankare Harri Kaartinen Kari Väätäinen Heikki Hyyti Tamas Faitli Juha Hyyppä Antero Kukko Kalle Kärhä |
| author_sort | Binod Kafle |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Evaluating the potential of a harvester-mounted LiDAR system in monitoring biodiversity indicators such as low vegetation during forest harvesting could enhance sustainable forest management and habitat conservation including dense forest areas for game. However, there is a lack of understanding on the capabilities and limitations of these systems to detect low vegetation characteristics. To address this knowledge gap, this study investigated the performance of a harvester-mounted LiDAR system for measuring low vegetation (height <5 m) attributes in a boreal forest in Finland, by comparing it with handheld mobile laser scanning (HMLS) and drone laser scanning (DLS) systems. LiDAR point cloud data was collected in September 2023 to quantify the low vegetation height (maximum, mean, and percentiles), volume (voxel-based and mean height-based) and cover (grid method). Depending on the system, LiDAR point cloud data was collected either before (HMLS and DLS), during (harvester LiDAR) or after (HMLS and DLS) harvesting operations. A total of 46 fixed-sized (5 m × 5 m) grid cells were studied and analyzed. Results showed harvester-mounted LiDAR provided consistent estimates with HMLS and DLS for maximum height, 99th height percentile, and volume across various grids (5 cm, 10 cm, 20 cm) and voxel (20 cm) sizes. High correlation was observed between the systems used for these attributes. This study demonstrated that harvester-mounted LiDAR is comparable to HMLS and DLS for assessing low vegetation height and volume. The findings could assist forest harvester operators in identifying potential low vegetation and dense areas for conservation and game management. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0e1873f319fc4ba68524fe77774ea5f9 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2242-4075 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Finnish Society of Forest Science |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Silva Fennica |
| spelling | doaj-art-0e1873f319fc4ba68524fe77774ea5f92025-08-23T08:21:55ZengFinnish Society of Forest ScienceSilva Fennica2242-40752025-08-0159210.14214/sf.25013Assessing the consistency of low vegetation characteristics estimated using harvester, handheld, and drone light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systemsBinod Kafle0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0744-3480Ville Kankare1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6038-1579Harri Kaartinen2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4796-3942Kari Väätäinen3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6886-0432Heikki Hyyti4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4664-6221Tamas Faitli5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5334-5537Juha Hyyppä6Antero Kukko7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3841-6533Kalle Kärhä8School of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland (UEF), Yliopistokatu 7, FI-80101 Joensuu, FinlandDepartment of Geography and Geology, University of Turku, FI-20014 Turun yliopisto, FinlandDepartment of Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry, Finnish Geospatial Research Institute (FGI), Opastinsilta 12 C, FI-00520 Helsinki, FinlandNatural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Yliopistokatu 6 B, FI-80100 Joensuu, FinlandDepartment of Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry, Finnish Geospatial Research Institute (FGI), Opastinsilta 12 C, FI-00520 Helsinki, FinlandDepartment of Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry, Finnish Geospatial Research Institute (FGI), Opastinsilta 12 C, FI-00520 Helsinki, FinlandDepartment of Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry, Finnish Geospatial Research Institute (FGI), Opastinsilta 12 C, FI-00520 Helsinki, FinlandDepartment of Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry, Finnish Geospatial Research Institute (FGI), Opastinsilta 12 C, FI-00520 Helsinki, FinlandSchool of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland (UEF), Yliopistokatu 7, FI-80101 Joensuu, FinlandEvaluating the potential of a harvester-mounted LiDAR system in monitoring biodiversity indicators such as low vegetation during forest harvesting could enhance sustainable forest management and habitat conservation including dense forest areas for game. However, there is a lack of understanding on the capabilities and limitations of these systems to detect low vegetation characteristics. To address this knowledge gap, this study investigated the performance of a harvester-mounted LiDAR system for measuring low vegetation (height <5 m) attributes in a boreal forest in Finland, by comparing it with handheld mobile laser scanning (HMLS) and drone laser scanning (DLS) systems. LiDAR point cloud data was collected in September 2023 to quantify the low vegetation height (maximum, mean, and percentiles), volume (voxel-based and mean height-based) and cover (grid method). Depending on the system, LiDAR point cloud data was collected either before (HMLS and DLS), during (harvester LiDAR) or after (HMLS and DLS) harvesting operations. A total of 46 fixed-sized (5 m × 5 m) grid cells were studied and analyzed. Results showed harvester-mounted LiDAR provided consistent estimates with HMLS and DLS for maximum height, 99th height percentile, and volume across various grids (5 cm, 10 cm, 20 cm) and voxel (20 cm) sizes. High correlation was observed between the systems used for these attributes. This study demonstrated that harvester-mounted LiDAR is comparable to HMLS and DLS for assessing low vegetation height and volume. The findings could assist forest harvester operators in identifying potential low vegetation and dense areas for conservation and game management.https://www.silvafennica.fi/article/25013biodiversityharvesterwood harvestingdense area for gamesdrone laser scanning (dls)handheld mobile laser scanning (hmls)point cloud |
| spellingShingle | Binod Kafle Ville Kankare Harri Kaartinen Kari Väätäinen Heikki Hyyti Tamas Faitli Juha Hyyppä Antero Kukko Kalle Kärhä Assessing the consistency of low vegetation characteristics estimated using harvester, handheld, and drone light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems Silva Fennica biodiversity harvester wood harvesting dense area for games drone laser scanning (dls) handheld mobile laser scanning (hmls) point cloud |
| title | Assessing the consistency of low vegetation characteristics estimated using harvester, handheld, and drone light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems |
| title_full | Assessing the consistency of low vegetation characteristics estimated using harvester, handheld, and drone light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems |
| title_fullStr | Assessing the consistency of low vegetation characteristics estimated using harvester, handheld, and drone light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessing the consistency of low vegetation characteristics estimated using harvester, handheld, and drone light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems |
| title_short | Assessing the consistency of low vegetation characteristics estimated using harvester, handheld, and drone light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems |
| title_sort | assessing the consistency of low vegetation characteristics estimated using harvester handheld and drone light detection and ranging lidar systems |
| topic | biodiversity harvester wood harvesting dense area for games drone laser scanning (dls) handheld mobile laser scanning (hmls) point cloud |
| url | https://www.silvafennica.fi/article/25013 |
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