Accurate forest parameters are essential for forest inventory. Traditionally, parameters such as diameter at breast height (DBH) and total height are measured in the field by level gauges and hypsometers. However, field inventories are usually based on sample plots, which, despite providing valuable and necessary information, are laborious, expensive, and spatially limited. Most of the work developed for remote measurement of DBH has used terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), which has high density point clouds, being an advantage for the accurate forest inventory. However, TLS still has a spatial limitation to application because it needs to be manually carried to reach the area of interest, requires sometimes challenging field access, and often requires a field team. UAV-borne (unmanned aerial vehicle) lidar has great potential to measure DBH as it provides much higher density point cloud data as compared to aircraft-borne systems. Here, we explore the potential of a UAV-lidar system (GatorEye) to measure individual-tree DBH and total height using an automatic approach in an integrated crop-livestock-forest system with seminal forest plantations of Eucalyptus benthamii. A total of 63 trees were georeferenced and had their DBH and total height measured in the field. In the high-density (>1400 points per meter squared) UAV-lidar point cloud, we applied algorithms (usually used for TLS) for individual tree detection and direct measurement of tree height and DBH. The correlation coefficients (r) between the field-observed and UAV lidar-derived measurements were 0.77 and 0.91 for DBH and total tree height, respectively. The corresponding root mean square errors (RMSE) were 11.3% and 7.9%, respectively. UAV-lidar systems have the potential for measuring relatively broad-scale (thousands of hectares) forest plantations, reducing field effort, and providing an important tool to aid decision making for efficient forest management. We recommend that this potential be explored in other tree plantations and forest environments.

Accurately quantifying forest aboveground biomass (AGB) is one of the most significant challenges in remote sensing, and is critical for understanding global carbon sequestration. Here, we evaluate the effectiveness of airborne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) for monitoring AGB stocks and change (ΔAGB) in a selectively logged tropical forest in eastern Amazonia. Specifically, we compare results from a suite of different modelling methods with extensive field data. The calibration AGB values were derived from 85 square field plots sized 50 × 50 m field plots established in 2014 and which were estimated using airborne LiDAR data acquired in 2012, 2014, and 2017. LiDAR-derived metrics were selected based upon Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and used to estimate AGB stock and change. The statistical approaches were: ordinary least squares regression (OLS), and nine machine learning approaches: random forest (RF), several variations of k-nearest neighbour (k-NN), support vector machine (SVM), and artificial neural networks (ANN). Leave-one-out cross-validation (LOOCV) was used to compare performance based upon root mean square error (RMSE) and mean difference (MD). The results show that OLS had the best performance with an RMSE of 46.94 Mg/ha (19.7%) and R² = 0.70. RF, SVM, and ANN were adequate, and all approaches showed RMSE ≤54.48 Mg/ha (22.89%). Models derived from k-NN variations all showed RMSE ≥64.61 Mg/ha (27.09%). The OLS model was thus selected to map AGB across the time-series. The mean (±sd—standard deviation) predicted AGB stock at the landscape level was 229.10 (±232.13) Mg/ha in 2012, 258.18 (±106.53) in 2014, and 240.34 (sd ± 177.00) Mg/ha in 2017, showing the effect of forest growth in the first period and logging in the second period. In most cases, unlogged areas showed higher AGB stocks than logged areas. Our methods showed an increase in AGB in unlogged areas and detected small changes from reduced-impact logging (RIL) activities occurring after 2012. We also detected that the AGB increase in areas logged before 2012 was higher than in unlogged areas. Based on our findings, we expect our study could serve as a basis for programs such as REDD+ and assist in detecting and understanding AGB changes caused by selective logging activities in tropical forests.

Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) remote sensing has been established as one of the most promising tools for large-scale forest monitoring and mapping. Continuous advances in computational techniques, such as machine learning algorithms, have been increasingly improving our capability to model forest attributes accurately and at high spatial and temporal resolution. While there have been previous studies exploring the use of LiDAR and machine learning algorithms for forest inventory modeling, as yet, no studies have demonstrated the combined impact of sample size and different modeling techniques for predicting and mapping stem total volume in industrial Eucalyptus spp. tree plantations. This study aimed to compare the combined effects of parametric and nonparametric modeling methods for estimating volume in Eucalyptus spp. tree plantation using airborne LiDAR data while varying the reference data (sample size). The modeling techniques were compared in terms of root mean square error (RMSE), bias, and R² with 500 simulations. The best performance was verified for the ordinary least-squares (OLS) method, which was able to provide comparable results to the traditional forest inventory approaches using only 40% (n = 63; ~0.04 plots/ha) of the total field plots, followed by the random forest (RF) algorithm with identical sample size values. This study provides solutions for increasing the industry efficiency in monitoring and managing forest plantation stem volume for the paper and pulp supply chain.

Lidar point clouds have been frequently used in forest inventories. The higher point density has provided better representation of trees in forest plantations. So we developed a new approach to fill this gap in the integrated crop-livestock-forest system, the sampling forest inventory, which uses the principles of individual tree detection applied under different plot arrangements. We use a UAV-lidar system (GatorEye) to scan an integrated crop-livestock-forest system with Eucalyptus benthamii seed forest plantations. On the high density UAV-lidar point cloud (>1400 pts. m²), we perform a comparison of two forest inventory approaches: Sampling Forest Inventory (SFI) with circular (1380 m² and 2300 m²) and linear (15 trees and 25 trees) plots and Individual Tree Detection (ITD). The parametric population values came from the approach with measurements taken in the field, called forest inventory (FI). Basal area and volume estimates were performed considering the field heights and the heights measured in the LiDAR point clouds. We performed a comparison of the variables number of trees, basal area, and volume per hectare. The variables by scenarios were submitted to analysis of variance to verify if the averages are considered different or equivalent. The RMSE (%) were calculated to explain the deviation between the measured volume (filed) and estimated volume (LiDAR) values of these variables. Additionally, we calculated rRMSE, Standard error, AIC, R², Bias, and residual charts. The basal area values ranged from 7.40 m² ha⁻¹ (C1380) to 8.14 m² ha⁻¹ 281 (C2300), about −5.9% less than the real value (8.65 m² ha⁻¹). The C2300 scenario was the only one whose confidence interval (CI) limits included the basal area real. For the total stand volume, the ITD scenario was the one that presented the closer values (689.29 m³) to the real total value (683.88 m³) with the real value positioned in the CI. Our findings indicate that for the stand conditions under study, the SFI approach (C2300) that considers an area of 2300 m² is adequate to generate estimates at the same level as the ITD approach. Thus, our study should be able to assist in the selection of an optimal plot size to generate estimates with minimized errors and gain in processing time.

Individual tree attributes, such as stem volume and biomass, are usually predicted by using traditional field-derived allometric models. However, these models are derived from data collected from small areas and lack a level of detail of tree components (e.g., stem, branches, and leaves). Remote sensing techniques such as the Quantitative Structure Modelling (QSM) applied on high-density LiDAR data emerge as a promising solution for obtaining extensive and detailed tree attribute estimates. We used a high-density LiDAR data on board of a Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to evaluate the performance of the QSM approach in estimating field-derived individual tree attributes such as the diameter at breast height (dbh), tree height (ht), and volume (v), as well as the stem (SAGB), branch (BAGB), and total (TAGB) aboveground biomass of eucalyptus trees. QSM was used in two different approaches: (i) using dbh and h derived from QSM and then applied into the field-based equations for estimation of volume and (ii) deriving tree volume directly from QSM. In general, all fitted models using the QSM approach were satisfactory, but with a slight tendency of over-estimation of dbh (9.33%), ht (12.40%), v-QSM1 (26.35%), v-QSM2 (26.66%), TAGB (27.08%), SAGB (25.57%), and BAGB (20.08%). Non-significant differences were noticed when estimating the dbh, tree volume, stem, and aboveground biomass. Despite the overestimation, this study indicates that using the QSM approach to estimate individual tree attributes from UAV-LiDAR is a promising alternative to support the decision-making process regarding forest management activities, especially when considering tree architecture and biomass components.