Mapping hard-to-access and hazardous parts of forests by terrestrial surveying methods is a challenging task. Remote sensing techniques can provide an alternative solution to such cases. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can provide on-demand data and higher flexibility in comparison to other remote sensing techniques. However, traditional georeferencing of imagery acquired by UAVs involves the use of ground control points (GCPs), thus negating the benefits of rapid and efficient mapping in remote areas. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of RTK/PPK (real-time kinematic, post-processed kinematic) solution used with a UAV to acquire camera positions through post-processed and corrected measurements by global navigation satellite systems (GNSS). To compare this solution with approaches involving GCPs, the accuracies of two GCP setup designs (4 GCPs and 9 GCPs) were evaluated. Additional factors, which can significantly influence accuracies were also introduced and evaluated: type of photogrammetric product (point cloud, orthoimages and DEM) vegetation leaf-off and leaf-on seasonal variation and flight patterns (evaluated individually and as a combination). The most accurate results for both horizontal (X and Y dimensions) and vertical (Z dimension) accuracies were acquired by the UAV RTK/PPK technology with RMSEs of 0.026 m, 0.035 m and 0.082 m, respectively. The PPK horizontal accuracy was significantly higher when compared to the 4GCP and 9GCP georeferencing approach (p < 0.05). The PPK vertical accuracy was significantly higher than 4 GCP approach accuracy, while PPK and 9 GCP approach vertical accuracies did not differ significantly (p = 0.96). Furthermore, the UAV RTK/PPK accuracy was not influenced by vegetation seasonal variation, whereas the GCP georeferencing approaches during the vegetation leaf-off season had lower accuracy. The use of the combined flight pattern resulted in higher horizontal accuracy; the influence on vertical accuracy was insignificant. Overall, the RTK/PPK technology in combination with UAVs is a feasible and appropriately accurate solution for various mapping tasks in forests.

The measurements of tree attributes required for forest monitoring and management planning, e.g., National Forest Inventories, are derived by rather time-consuming field measurements on sample plots, using calipers and measurement tapes. Therefore, forest managers and researchers are looking for alternative methods. Currently, terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) is the remote sensing method that provides the most accurate point clouds at the plot-level to derive these attributes from. However, the demand for even more efficient and effective solutions triggers further developments to lower the acquisition time, costs, and the expertise needed to acquire and process 3D point clouds, while maintaining the quality of extracted tree parameters. In this context, photogrammetry is considered a potential solution. Despite a variety of studies, much uncertainty still exists about the quality of photogrammetry-based methods for deriving plot-level forest attributes in natural forests. Therefore, the overall goal of this study is to evaluate the competitiveness of terrestrial photogrammetry based on structure from motion (SfM) and dense image matching for deriving tree positions, diameters at breast height (DBHs), and stem curves of forest plots by means of a consumer grade camera. We define an image capture method and we assess the accuracy of the photogrammetric results on four forest plots located in Austria and Slovakia, two in each country, selected to cover a wide range of conditions such as terrain slope, undergrowth vegetation, and tree density, age, and species. For each forest plot, the reference data of the forest parameters were obtained by conducting field surveys and TLS measurements almost simultaneously with the photogrammetric acquisitions. The TLS data were also used to estimate the accuracy of the photogrammetric ground height, which is a necessary product to derive DBHs and tree heights. For each plot, we automatically derived tree counts, tree positions, DBHs, and part of the stem curve from both TLS and SfM using a software developed at TU Wien (Forest Analysis and Inventory Tool, FAIT), and the results were compared. The images were oriented with errors of a few millimetres only, according to checkpoint residuals. The automatic tree detection rate for the SfM reconstruction ranges between 65% and 98%, where the missing trees have average DBHs of less than 12 cm. For each plot, the mean error of SfM and TLS DBH estimates is −1.13 cm and −0.77 cm with respect to the caliper measurements. The resulting stem curves show that the mean differences between SfM and TLS stem diameters is at maximum −2.45 cm up to 3 m above ground, which increases to almost +4 cm for higher elevations. This study shows that with the adopted image capture method, terrestrial SfM photogrammetry, is an accurate solution to support forest inventory for estimating the number of trees and their location, the DBHs and stem curve up to 3 m above ground.

Strong winds may uproot and break trees and represent a major natural disturbance for European forests. Wind disturbances have intensified over the last decades globally and are expected to further rise in view of the effects of climate change. Despite the importance of such natural disturbances, there are currently no spatially explicit databases of wind-related impact at a pan-European scale. Here, we present a new database of wind disturbances in European forests (FORWIND). FORWIND is comprised of more than 80 000 spatially delineated areas in Europe that were disturbed by wind in the period 2000–2018 and describes them in a harmonized and consistent geographical vector format. The database includes all major windstorms that occurred over the observational period (e.g. Gudrun, Kyrill, Klaus, Xynthia and Vaia) and represents approximately 30 % of the reported damaging wind events in Europe. Correlation analyses between the areas in FORWIND and land cover changes retrieved from the Landsat-based Global Forest Change dataset and the MODIS Global Disturbance Index corroborate the robustness of FORWIND. Spearman rank coefficients range between 0.27 and 0.48 (p value < 0.05). When recorded forest areas are rescaled based on their damage degree, correlation increases to 0.54. Wind-damaged growing stock volumes reported in national inventories (FORESTORM dataset) are generally higher than analogous metrics provided by FORWIND in combination with satellite-based biomass and country-scale statistics of growing stock volume. The potential of FORWIND is explored for a range of challenging topics and scientific fields, including scaling relations of wind damage, forest vulnerability modelling, remote sensing monitoring of forest disturbance, representation of uprooting and breakage of trees in large-scale land surface models, and hydrogeological risks following wind damage. Overall, FORWIND represents an essential and open-access spatial source that can be used to improve the understanding, detection and prediction of wind disturbances and the consequent impacts on forest ecosystems and the land–atmosphere system. Data sharing is encouraged in order to continuously update and improve FORWIND. The dataset is available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.9555008 (Forzieri et al., 2019).

This study focuses on the horizontal and vertical accuracy of point-clouds based on unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery. The DJI Phantom 3 Professional unmanned aerial vehicle and Agisoft PhotoScan Professional software were used for the evaluation. Three test sites with differing conditions (canopy openness, slope, terrain complexity, etc.) were used for comparison. The accuracy evaluation was aimed on positions of points placed on the ground. This is often disregarded under forest conditions as it is not possible to photogrammetrically reconstruct terrain that is covered by a fully-closed forest canopy. Therefore, such a measurement can only be conducted when there are gaps in the canopy or under leaf-off conditions in the case of deciduous forests. The reported sub-decimetre horizontal accuracy and vertical accuracy lower than 20 cm have proven that the method is applicable for survey, inventory, and various other tasks in forests. An analysis of ground control point (GCP) quantity and configuration showed that the quantity had only a minor effect on the accuracy in cases of plots with ~1-hectare area when using the aforementioned software. Therefore, methods increasing quality (precision, accuracy) of GCP positions should be preferred over the increase of quantity alone.

Close-range photogrammetry (CRP) can be used to provide precise and detailed three-dimensional data of objects. For several years, CRP has been a subject of research in forestry. Several studies have focused on tree reconstruction at the forest stand, plot, and tree levels. In our study, we focused on the reconstruction of trees separately within the forest stand. We investigated the influence of camera lens, tree species, and height of diameter on the accuracy of the tree perimeter and diameter estimation. Furthermore, we investigated the variance of the perimeter and diameter reference measurements. We chose four tree species (Fagus sylvatica L., Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl., Picea abies (L.) H. Karst. and Abies alba Mill.). The perimeters and diameters were measured at three height levels (0.8 m, 1.3 m, and 1.8 m) and two types of lenses were used. The data acquisition followed a circle around the tree at a 3 m radius. The highest accuracy of the perimeter estimation was achieved when a fisheye lens was used at a height of 1.3 m for Fagus sylvatica (root mean square error of 0.25 cm). Alternatively, the worst accuracy was achieved when a non-fisheye lens was used at 1.3 m for Quercus petraea (root mean square error of 1.27 cm). The tree species affected the estimation accuracy for both diameters and perimeters.