Measurement of volume and accuracy analysis of standing trees using Forest Survey Intelligent Dendrometer

Abstract The standing tree volume is very important for accurately evaluating stand growth. This paper introduced a new type of high precision portable electronic instrument - Forest Survey Intelligent Dendrometer (FSID). For the instrument, we developed guidelines for measuring the standing tree volume in the sample plot and explained the principles and methods. The instrument can use the integrated angle and distance measuring device to determine the height of standing trees based on the low-power Bluetooth data transmission, extract the coordinates of the characteristic points of the standing trees, calculate the diameter of the tree trunk at any height, and realize the real-time measurement of tree volume in single photo and multiple photo solutions. To verify and analyze the accuracy of the instrument, we measured 181 standing trees in a 45x45m temporary plot in Haidian District, Beijing. The experimental results showed that the accuracy of the FSID for measuring the standing tree volume was 96.89%. Different tree heights lead to different optimal observation distances, and the optimal observation distance of this experiment was approximately 8 m. The method in this paper has the characteristics of real-time, fast, efficient and non-destructive, which can meet the requirements of forest survey, especially in the forest areas where logging is prohibited or restricted. The method shows great potential in forest survey and environmental protection.