A forest canopy is a complex system with a highly structural multi-scale architecture. Physical based radiative transfer (RT) modelling has been shown to be an effective tool for retrieval of vegetation canopy biochemical/physical characteristics from optical remote sensing data. A high spatial resolution RT through a forest canopy requires several geometrical and structural parameters of trees...

Canopy gaps are one of the most important structural features of forest ecosystems, and studying of them can have useful results and implications for forest management. The aim of this study is investigation of characteristics and regeneration within canopy gaps in an intact beech stand in the Shastkalateh Experimental Forest of Hyrcanian region, north of Iran. All canopy gaps and related fores...

A first-return laser rangefinder deployed from a low-flying helicopter provided inexpensive, repeatable, and high-resolution measurements of the shape of the outer forest canopy in stands of four successional stages on the Maryland coastal plain. The traces of canopy height in these stands revealed structural characteristics such as cover, maximum and mean heights which were consistent with cor...

A detailed 3D structural model of a conifer forest canopy was developed in order to simulate the reflectance (optical) and backscatter (microwave) signals measured remotely. We show it is feasible to model forest canopy scattering using detailed 3D models of tree structure including the location and orientation of individual needles. An existing structural growth model of Scots pine (Pinus sylv...

Canopy layers form essential structural components, affecting stand productivity and wildlife habitats. Airborne laser scanning (ALS) provides horizontal and vertical information on canopy structure simultaneously. Existing approaches to assess canopy layering often require prior information about stand characteristics or rely on pre-defined height thresholds. We developed a multi-scale method ...

Article history: Received 23 July 2015 Received in revised form 15 April 2016 Accepted 28 April 2016 Available online xxxx There is awell-established needwithin the remote sensing community for improved estimation and understanding of canopy structure and its influence on the retrieval of leaf biochemical properties. The main goal of this research was to assess the potential of optical spectral...

Many studies have been conducted to demonstrate the ability of hyperspectral data to discriminate plant dominant species. Most of them have employed the use of empirically based techniques, which are site specific, requires some initial training based on characteristics of known leaf and/or canopy spectra and therefore may not be extendable to operational use or adapted to changing or unknown l...

We present an application of 3D canopy modelling for assessing the structural accuracy of complex 3D structural models of Sitka spruce. Such models can be used to simulate canopy reflectance at the landscape-scale with a minimum number of assumptions. Typically, however, the underlying canopy structural models require a large number of parameters, many of which are hard to measure and so must b...