Airborne Lidar In Rainforest

At the experimental forest site Paracou in French Guiana, a range of data is being collected to enable the short-term dynamics within the tropical rainforest canopy to be better understood and quantified. Airborne Lidar was used to obtain high spatial resolution data of the 3D canopy structure. The data has been utilised to build a canopy height model and provides valuable information about the foliage density. The sensing system can also be mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The French Guianian project demonstrates proof of concept for the further application of this technique.