Refereed journal article or data article (A1)

Revealing Changes in the Stem Form and Volume Allocation in Diverse Boreal Forests Using Two-Date Terrestrial Laser Scanning




List of AuthorsLuoma Ville, Yrttimaa Tuomas, Kankare Ville, Saarinen Ninni, Pyörälä Jiri, Kukko Antero, Kaartinen Harri, Hyyppä Juha, Holopainen Markus, Vastaranta Mikko

PublisherMDPI

PlaceBasel

Publication year2021

JournalForests

Journal name in sourceFORESTS

Journal acronymFORESTS

Article numberARTN 835

Volume number12

Issue number7

Number of pages20

eISSN1999-4907

DOIhttp://dx.doi.org/10.3390/f12070835

URLhttps://doi.org/10.3390/f12070835

Self-archived copy’s web addresshttp://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/66680817


Abstract
Tree growth is a multidimensional process that is affected by several factors. There is a continuous demand for improved information on tree growth and the ecological traits controlling it. This study aims at providing new approaches to improve ecological understanding of tree growth by the means of terrestrial laser scanning (TLS). Changes in tree stem form and stem volume allocation were investigated during a five-year monitoring period. In total, a selection of attributes from 736 trees from 37 sample plots representing different forest structures were extracted from taper curves derived from two-date TLS point clouds. The results of this study showed the capability of point cloud-based methods in detecting changes in the stem form and volume allocation. In addition, the results showed a significant difference between different forest structures in how relative stem volume and logwood volume increased during the monitoring period. Along with contributing to providing more accurate information for monitoring purposes in general, the findings of this study showed the ability and many possibilities of point cloud-based method to characterize changes in living organisms in particular, which further promote the feasibility of using point clouds as an observation method also in ecological studies.

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Last updated on 2022-25-10 at 10:59