Airborne LiDAR technology
Forestry, natural resource assessment and
site development
LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging)
is regarded as the most powerful technology for delivering highly accurate terrain data in a timely and
cost-effective manner.
LiDAR is an active optical remote sensing system
emitting laser pulses, which are partially reflected by
the ground. The distance between the sensor and
the ground surface is measured by the time elapsed
between sending and receiving the laser pulse. LiDAR systems have the unique capability of measuring the three-dimensional structure of the Earth
surface in great spatial detail.
Three highly accurate products can be derived:
- Digital Terrain Models (DTM)
- Digital Surface Models (DSM)
- 3D Point Clouds indicating the vertical structure of the vegetation.
In combination with simultaneously acquired aerial
images this extremely powerful dataset supports a
wide range of applications such as land mapping,
cartography, exploration, construction work, spatial
planning and forest management.
Forests are in the focus of climate change mitigation, which requires detailed information on carbon
storage and potential degradation processes. Remote sensing is the key technology in the context
of forestry projects, natural resource assessment
and sustainable site development. LiDAR technology adresses key components, such as very highresolution surface topography, terrain topography,
forest canopy height and forest biomass and carbon
storage in pristine and logged over forests.
In the context of High Carbon Stock Forests (HCS),
sustainable forest management and climate change
mitigation (REDD+) it is of vital importance to determine the amount of carbon stored in forests.
Aerial image, digital terrain model (DTM) and digital surface
model (DSM) showing an oil palm plantation
LiDAR is useful for
-Forest Management (tree height, biomass, vertcal canopy structure)
-Measuring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) and other climate change mitigation projects, as LiDAR addresses all
components of MRV
-Sustainable Site Development, as high-resolution terrain topography supports hydrological and infrastructure planning.
LiDAR transect through a typical tropical rainforest showing variations in tree height and aboveground biomass. The aerial photo shows the
location of the transect
RSS LiDAR Services
RSS provides highly specialized services on LiDAR
processing and expert knowledge on inventory design and field data collection. Highly accurate above
ground biomass (AGB) estimates and carbon stock
models that represent the wide AGB and carbon
stock variability of forests in great spatial detail are
at the core of RSS’ services. Targeted forest surveys
are planned and conducted by RSS forestry experts.
RSS has assisted customers to detect small logging
tracks and drainage canals even under dense forest
canopies to support hydrological planning and improved water management.
RSS uses LiDAR technology to generate very high
resolution Digital Surface and Digital Terrain Models
(DSMs and DTMs) from which Canopy Height Models (CHMs) can be derived.
Using multitemporal LiDAR transects allows the determination of peat subsidence due to decomposition, fire and compaction with centimeter accuracy.
High-resolution DTMs also assist in the planning of
infrastructure (e.g. roads, skid trails etc.), which is essential for sustainable site development.
Highly accurate LiDAR DTMs have been used to optimize water management in degraded peatlands
and for the planning of dam locations.
An emerging technology:
UAV-borne LiDAR
The latest trend in LiDAR technology are sensor systems small enough to be mounted of unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly referred to as drones. Drone
technology greatly enhances the cost effectiveness
of LiDAR by strongly reducing avation costs while
keeping the full technical capability!
Agricultural as well as forestry applications benefit
from the flexibility provided by UAV-borne LiDAR
which allows for easy and efficient LiDAR and aerial
photo acquisition, processing and monitoring.
Imagery taken by unmanned aerial vehicles and cutting edge
processing dramatically reduces costs
Different stages of tropical forest degradation as seen in LiDAR
data. Above: Primary forest; Center: Logged over forest; Below:
Shrubland with regenerating forest
LiDAR Reference Projects of RSS
Selected Projects
Topic
Customer
HCS+ case study Gabon – Field testing the HCS+ Carbon 2015
neutral approach in three oil palm concessions in Gabon with Sustainable Palm Oil
a total area of 90,000 ha.
Manifesto
HCS+ Study
BIOCLIME - The Biodiversity and Climate Change Project supports Indonesia to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the
forestry sector and to conserve High Conservation Value forest ecosystems in South Sumatra. One task in this study is
the derivation of Above Ground Biomass (AGB) based on more
than 40,000 ha transects of airborne LiDAR. RSS is responsible
for project management and implementation, LiDAR mission
planning, data evaluation and biomass modelling. LiDAR products: DSM, DTM, CHM and AGB
2014-2016
German International
Cooperation (GIZ)
GmbH
Aboveground carbon storage and forest structure – This research project investigated the effects of field sampling design
and density of forest inventory on the accuracy of LiDAR based
aboveground biomass models.
2014 – 2015
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG
Indonesia
Indonesia
2012 - 2015
Hydrological Restoration - Hydrological restoration of a peat WWF Germany
swamp catchment in Kalimantan. 3D modelling of peat dome
hydrology. Processing of more than 25,000 ha airborne LiDAR Indonesia
transects. Products: DSM, DTM, CHM and DTM model for the
whole catchment
FORCLIME - Indonesian-German Forest and Climate Change
Programme in Kalimantan (Technical Component). One task in
this study was the derivation of forest Above Ground Biomass
(AGB) estimates based on airborne LiDAR data in three districts in Kalimantan, Indonesia (Kapuas Hulu, Berau and Malinau). 75,000 ha of airborne LiDAR data was processed. RSS was
responsible for project management and implementation, LiDAR data evaluation and biomass modelling. LiDAR products:
DSMs, DTM, CHM and AGB
2011-2014
German International
Cooperation (GIZ)
GmbH
Indonesia
2010 - 2013
Kalimantan LiDAR Survey - In the framework of the Indonesi- AusAid, Government
an-Australian Forest Carbon Partnership, a large-scale airborne of Australia
LiDAR survey of 693,800 ha was realized in Central Kalimantan.
RSS as main contractor was responsible for project manage- Indonesia
ment and implementation, LiDAR data evaluation and cartography. LiDAR products: DSM, DTM, CHM, drainage infrastructure and AGB
RSS Company Profile
RSS - Remote Sensing Solutions GmbH is since
more than 10 years one of the leading value-adding
companies for earth observation in Germany. RSS
is specialized in satellite image processing and interpretation, aerial image interpretation and photogrammetry, application development for geoinformation system (GIS), digital cartography in the
fields of environmental monitoring, nature conservation, forest inventories, REDD+ and carbon accounting and natural hazards (impact assessment
and prevention).
RSS provides custom-made, application-oriented
services and innovative solutions. Our customers
are among municipal, national and international authorities, NGO‘s and private companies.
RSS is currently involved in various forestry and
climate change mitigation projects in SE Asia, the
Brazilian Amazon, Africa and Eastern Europe, with
special focus on REDD+, HCS(+), MRV, REL, and capacity building.
For further information visit www.rssgmbh.de
Relevant publications
Konecny K., U. Ballhorn, P. Navratil, J. Jubanski, S.E.
Page, K. Tansey, A. Hooijer, R. Vernimmen & F. Siegert (2015). Variable carbon losses from recurrent
fires in drained tropical peatlands. Global Change
Biology 2015, 10.1111/gcb.13186
Englhart S., J. Jubanski & F. Siegert (2013). Quantifying dynamics in tropical peat swamp forest biomass with multi-temporal LiDAR datasets. Remote
Sensing, Vol. 5, 2368-2388; doi:10.3390/rs5052368
Jubanski J, U. Ballhorn, K. Kronseder, J. Franke & F.
Siegert (2013). Detection of large above-ground
biomass variability in lowland forest ecosystems
by airborne LiDAR. Biogeosciences, 10, 3917–3930,
2013. doi:10.5194/bg-10-3917-2013
Kronseder K, U. Ballhorn, V. Böhm & F. Siegert
(2012). Above ground biomass estimation across forest types at different degradation levels in Central
Kalimantan using LiDAR data. International Journal
of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation
18 (2012) 37–48
Englhart S., V. Keuck &, F. Siegert (2012). Modeling Aboveground Biomass inTropical Forests Using
Multi-Frequency SAR Data—A Comparison of Methods. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied
Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, Vol. 5, No.
1, February 2012
Ballhorn U., J. Jubanski & F. Siegert (2011). ICESat/
GLAS Data as a Measurement Tool for Peatland Topography and Peat Swamp Forest Biomass in Kalimantan, Indonesia. Remote Sens. 2011, 3, 19571982; doi:10.3390/rs3091957
Englhart S., V. Keuck &, F. Siegert (2011). Aboveground biomass retrieval in tropical forests — The
potential of combined X- and L-band SAR data use.
Remote Sensing of Environment 115 (2011) 1260–
1271
Ballhorn U., F. Siegert, M. Mason & S. Limin (2009).
Derivation of burn scar depths and estimation of
carbon emissions with LIDAR in Indonesian peatlands. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, December 15, 2009
vol. 106 no. 50, 21213-21218
RSS
Remote Sensing Solutions GmbH
Isarstr. 3
82065 Baierbrunn/München
Germany
www.rssgmbh.de
[email protected]