Vertical decomposition of forest structure using LiDAR remote sensing

Vertical LiDAR profiles that measure the vertical organization of the canopy structure were created and used to classify the study area based upon reference profiles developed from selected silvicultural practices present in the Turkey Lakes Watershed. A previous method of estimating LAI from LiDAR data uses the vegetation returns to calculate the mean vegetation height. A new method of estimating LAI based upon the area under the vertical LiDAR profile was developed that is more accurate than the mean vegetation height approach. A procedure was developed to vertically distribute the LAI throughout the forest canopy using the estimated LAI and the LiDAR vertical profile. The result was a vertical LAI profile for each pixel. This allowed for the calculation of LAI at a specified height, and the height a specified LAI occurs. Vertical decomposition of LAI was performed at the plot level (20 x 20 m) and the canopy level (5 x 5 m).