Benjamin Brede

Evaluation of the Range Accuracy and the Radiometric Calibration of Multiple Terrestrial Laser Scanning Instruments for Data Interoperability

Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) data provide 3-D measurements of vegetation structure and have the potential to support the calibration and validation of satellite and airborne sensors. The increasing range of different commercial and scientific TLS instruments holds challenges for data and instrument interoperability. Using data from various TLS sources will be critical to upscale study areas or compare data. In this paper, we provide a general framework to compare the interoperability of TLS instruments. We compare three TLS instruments that are the same make and model, the RIEGL VZ-400. We compare the range accuracy and evaluate the manufacturer’s radiometric calibration for the uncalibrated return intensities. Our results show that the range accuracy between instruments is comparable and within the manufacturer’s specifications. This means that the spatial XYZ data of different instruments can be combined into a single data set. Our findings demonstrate that radiometric calibration is instrument specific and needs to be carried out for each instrument individually before including reflectance information in TLS analysis. We show that the residuals between the calibrated reflectance panels and the apparent reflectance measured by the instrument are greatest for highest reflectance panels (residuals ranging from 0.058 to 0.312).

Comparing RIEGL RiCOPTER UAV LiDAR Derived Canopy Height and DBH with Terrestrial LiDAR

In recent years, LIght Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) and especially Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) systems have shown the potential to revolutionise forest structural characterisation by providing unprecedented 3D data. However, manned Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) requires costly campaigns and produces relatively low point density, while TLS is labour intense and time demanding. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-borne laser scanning can be the way in between. In this study, we present first results and experiences with the RIEGL RiCOPTER with VUX®-1UAV ALS system and compare it with the well tested RIEGL VZ-400 TLS system. We scanned the same forest plots with both systems over the course of two days. We derived Digital Terrain Models (DTMs), Digital Surface Models (DSMs) and finally Canopy Height Models (CHMs) from the resulting point clouds. ALS CHMs were on average 11.5 cm higher in five plots with different canopy conditions. This showed that TLS could not always detect the top of canopy. Moreover, we extracted trunk segments of 58 trees for ALS and TLS simultaneously, of which 39 could be used to model Diameter at Breast Height (DBH). ALS DBH showed a high agreement with TLS DBH with a correlation coefficient of 0.98 and root mean square error of 4.24 cm. We conclude that RiCOPTER has the potential to perform comparable to TLS for estimating forest canopy height and DBH under the studied forest conditions. Further research should be directed to testing UAV-borne LiDAR for explicit 3D modelling of whole trees to estimate tree volume and subsequently Above-Ground Biomass (AGB).

Influence of solar zenith angle on the enhanced vegetation index of a Guyanese rainforest

In this study, the effect of solar zenith angle () on enhanced vegetation index (EVI) of a Guyanese tropical rainforest was studied. For this sub-crown resolution, hyperspectral data have been collected with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at five different solar zenith angles in a 1-day period. The hyperspectral data were used to simulate Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) spectral bands and generate EVI. The linear trend of EVI with solar zenith angle at nadir viewing conditions was found to be –0.00285 (). The direction of this trend was in agreement with earlier studies, but with a differing magnitude. Analysis of EVI images with sub-crown resolution pointed to strong influence of canopy shadows on EVI, which is supported by other studies. Additionally, the EVI–solar zenith angle trend was investigated in the semi-empirical RossThick-LiSparse-Reciprocal (RTLSR) model implemented in the MODIS MCD43 product suite. A database of model parameters has been created and the EVI–solar zenith angle trend was modelled with each set of parameters. The linear approximated trend was found to be –0.00219 on average, only slightly weaker compared to the trend derived from the UAV. Further analysis of the relationship between the single RTLSR model parameters and the EVI–solar zenith angle trend showed that the RTLSR produces the trend for the right reason, namely canopy shadowing expressed by the near-infrared geometric kernel. In total, this study delivers further evidence that EVI is dependent on solar zenith angle and this effect is mediated through EVI’s sensitivity to within-canopy shadows.

Monitoring Forest Phenology and Leaf Area Index with the Autonomous, Low-Cost Transmittance Sensor PASTiS-57

Land Surface Phenology (LSP) and Leaf Area Index (LAI) are important variables that describe the photosynthetically active phase and capacity of vegetation. Both are derived on the global scale from optical satellite sensors and require robust validation based on in situ sensors at high temporal resolution. This study assesses the PAI Autonomous System from Transmittance Sensors at 57° (PASTiS-57) instrument as a low-cost transmittance sensor for simultaneous monitoring of LSP and LAI in forest ecosystems. In a field experiment, spring leaf flush and autumn senescence in a Dutch beech forest were observed with PASTiS-57 and illumination independent, multi-temporal Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) measurements in five plots. Both time series agreed to less than a day in Start Of Season (SOS) and End Of Season (EOS). LAI magnitude was strongly correlated with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.98. PASTiS-57 summer and winter LAI were on average 0.41 m2m−2 and 1.43 m2m−2 lower than TLS. This can be explained by previously reported overestimation of TLS. Additionally, PASTiS-57 was implemented in the Discrete Anisotropic Radiative Transfer (DART) Radiative Transfer Model (RTM) model for sensitivity analysis. This confirmed the robustness of the retrieval with respect to non-structural canopy properties and illumination conditions. Generally, PASTiS-57 fulfilled the CEOS LPV requirement of 20% accuracy in LAI for a wide range of biochemical and illumination conditions for turbid medium canopies. However, canopy non-randomness in discrete tree models led to strong biases. Overall, PASTiS-57 demonstrated the potential of autonomous devices for monitoring of phenology and LAI at daily temporal resolution as required for validation of satellite products that can be derived from ESA Copernicus’ optical missions, Sentinel-2 and -3.