UMass Boston

LiDAR Research

This research uses ground-based, upward-scanning hemispherical lidar to retrieve forest canopy structural information, including tree height, mean tree diameter, basal area, stem count density, crown diameter, woody biomass, and green biomass, and links this information to airborne and spaceborne lidars to provide large-area mapping of structural and biomass parameters.

Websites:

Terrestrial Lidar Scanner International Interest Group (TLSIIG)

Ecosynth - 3D Tools for Ecology

News:

Lidar deployed in Treak Cliff Caverns, United Kingdom (click to view YouTube video of scans)

Lidar deployed in Costa Rica in La Selva and Corcovado tropical forests, and mangroves in Drake's Bay (click to read more, click to view pictures)

Lidar deployed in Australia for Terrestrial Ecological Research Network (TERN) campaign (click to read more).

Lidar deployed at Bussey Brooks, MA for comparison with UAV imagery (click to read more).

Video:

Point cloud from Sierra National Forest, CA: View on YouTube / Download

Point cloud from single tree, Salford University, United Kingdom: View on YouTube

Professor Crystal Schaaf’s Lab

School for the Environment
University of Massachusetts Boston
100 Morrissey Blvd.
Boston, MA 02125