Mapping timber volume in Tasmanian

wet eucalypt forests using airborne laser

scanning

Dr Robert Musk
Background:
Forestry Tasmania manages 1.3 million Hectares of
Native forest and plantations for multiple use
Background:
Forestry Tasmania manages 1.3 million hectares of
native forest and plantations for multiple use

Airborne laser scanning will be viable only if:

it generates multiple products for multiple users
(strategic AND operational timber mapping,
stream locations, road lines, karst, land slips)

costs can be reduced in other areas (i.e field

assessment)
Background:

Airborne Laser Scanner data:

Acquired November 2007
32 000 hectares (multiple forest types, geologies)
LiteMapper 5600
Fixed wing aircraft
Nominal 800m AGL
Scan angle max 20 degrees
~ 2.1 returns per square metre
Low altitude
High altitude
Background:

Ground data:
154 existing plots (333 square metres). Mostly clustered.
GPS control +- 5m se
Dominated by regrowth (single age < 50 years)
Randomly located but poor coverage
Measured within 3 years of ALS data acquisition
Low altitude
High altitude
Background:

Aim:
build a landscape-level (strategic) inventory
using legacy plot data
Dependent variables:
Total timber volume
Merchantable timber volume
Basal area
Eucalyptus/wattle proportions

Available ALS covariates:

Landscape metrics
Elevation
Aspect (NE/SW)
Slope position
Vegetation metrics
ALS height percentiles
ALS density percentiles (proportions of returns above a given
relative height)
Dependent variables:
Total timber volume
Merchantable timber volume
Basal area
Eucalyptus/wattle proportions

Other covariates:
Photogrammetrically interpreted forest type
(Regrowth, mature, mixed regrowth/mature)
ln ( y ) = β0 + β1 x1 + β2 x 2 + β3 x 3 + β4 x 2 x 3 + ε

Where:
y - merchantable timber volume (m3Ha-1);
x1 - the 90th percentile of vegetation height (m);
x2 - Canopy density (proportion of returns above 30% of maximum height) ;
x3 - Vegetation density (proportion of returns above ground height);
B - model parameters;
e - residual error.
R2 = 0.708, RSE=0.5873 on 149 degrees of freedom.
Low volumes
High volumes
 The model is of strategic use.
Coupe-level estimates are
biased toward the mean

Low volumes
High volumes
 The model is of strategic use.
Coupe-level estimates are
biased toward the mean
Forests are highly variable
Plot location accuracy is poor
Plot size is not appropriate to
characterise ALS signal

Low volumes
High volumes
 The model is of strategic use.
Coupe-level estimates are
biased toward the mean

Approaches to improving
precision:
Seek additional covariates

Low volumes
High volumes
 The model is of strategic use.
Coupe-level estimates are
biased toward the mean

Approaches to improving
precision:
Seek additional covariates
Use localisation techniques

Low volumes
High volumes
 The model is of strategic use.
Coupe-level estimates are
biased toward the mean

Approaches to improving
precision:
Seek additional covariates
Use localisation techniques
Acquire new or additional
Low volumes data
High volumes
 The model is of strategic use.
Coupe-level estimates are
biased toward the mean

Approaches to improving
precision:
Seek additional covariates
Use localisation techniques
Acquire new or additional
Low volumes data
High volumes
Validation sampling using a
systematic random (SysR)
sampling design
 Validation sampling using a
generalised random tessellation stratified (GRTS)
sampling design
 Validation sampling using a
generalised random tessellation stratified (GRTS)
sampling design
 Validation sampling using a
sensor directed response surface (SDRS)
sampling design
 Validation sampling using a
sensor directed response surface (SDRS)
sampling design
Sampling designs compared
 Model R2, Composite model
Sampling design Validation model F-score
residual error
(with p-value)

SDRS 0.706, 0.331 landscape-level 1.109 (0.414)

SysR 1.344 (0.322)

GRTS 0.729, 0.237 landscape-level 5.176 (0.013)

SysR 2.323 (0.120)
 Approaches to improving
precision:
Seek additional covariates
Use localisation techniques
Acquire new or additional
Low volumes data
High volumes
 Approaches to improving
precision:
Seek additional covariates
Use localisation techniques
Acquire new or additional
Low volumes data
High volumes
 Approaches to improving
precision:
Seek additional covariates
Use localisation techniques
Acquire new or additional
Low volumes data. First step: Plot design
High volumes
 Mapping timber volume in Tasmanian
wet eucalypt forests using airborne laser
scanning

Dr Robert Musk
Rob.Musk@forestrytas.com.au