Deployment and integration of cost-effective high resolution remotely sensed data for the Australian forest industry, Stone, C and Osborn, J (eds)

This research project set out to provide data workflow and analytical solutions required for the operational deployment of high spatial resolution 3D data acquired by light aircraft and Unmanned Airborne Vehicles (UAV) suitable for integration into the resource information systems managed by Australian plantation and native forest growers. A key finding of this multi-faceted research project was the robust performance of applications using point cloud data acquired from aerial photography (AP). A detailed evaluation of point clouds obtained from several AP platforms and coincident LiDAR data acquired over both P. radiata and eucalypt plantations revealed both the strengths and weaknesses of AP data processed through a modern photogrammetric solution. The studies reported here (Section 2) have helped to identify operational specifications for acquiring AP imagery. These findings are supported by a detailed description of data acquisition and processing workflows in Planning Guidelines that accompany this Final Report. Digital photography acquired from a manned aircraft or UAV can be processed using commercial software to produce a high resolution 3D canopy data. A photogrammetric approach depends on availability of a sufficiently accurate Digital Terrain Model, which is usually provided from prior LiDAR acquisition, although opportunistic capture of a DTM using AP prior to or soon after planting is an alternative to LiDAR. A key advantage of using AP to acquire Canopy Height Models (CHMs) is that AP data are likely to be cheaper to acquire than airborne LiDAR and so provide a cost-effective solution for inventory updates.