LiDAR: Individual Tree Inventories
Individual tree inventories delineate individual trees in the forest canopy and assign a species, height, and DBH to each tree – which then allows for the direct calculation of tree volumes, log products, and piece sizes. This information can then be used to delineate stands polygons and provide attributes for these polygons (e.g. stems per hectare).
Individual tree inventories are true operational forest inventories that give planners access to detailed cruise-like information across large landscapes. This allows for:
- Reduced planning costs (faster/more effective office-based planning, and higher confidence in operational planning)
- Reduced recce costs (know before you go – field work used to finalize)
- Improved targeting/scheduling of blocks to supply mill demands (know piece size and species %)
Click here for more info and to request the Innovative Forest Inventory services PDF
LiDAR: Area Based Forest Inventories
Where individual tree inventories are not possible, due to low LiDAR point density, an area (grid cell) based inventory can provide more generalized but excellent inventory information. While this type of inventory cannot provide detailed species or log product information, it can provide:
- Volume per ha (biomass, gross merch, net merch)
- Estimates of average stand DBH and height
- Estimates of density (basal area, stems/ha, crown closure)
Hybrid Forest Inventory
We also offer Comprehensive Forest Inventory services using LiDAR data with a combination of approaches described above, Individual Tree (ITC) and Area-based (ABA), in order to predict very detailed estimates of all desired inventory attributes including species, diameters, log products, etc.
ITC and ABA approaches both provide estimates and have their unique strengths and weaknesses. While the ABA method is statistically defensible and produces solid volume information, it lacks the critical species and stem attributes. The ITC method provides the species information but, as the stem information is limited to what the LiDAR sensor can see, small stems or stems in a dense canopy are often missed. When using a combination of the two approaches, however, we can achieve a high level of stem count and piece size accuracy that can pass rigorous statistical tests.
Traditional Forest Inventory Updates
Forsite provides innovative and efficient inventory update solutions that help to maintain the lifespan of older inventories.
This includes:
- Updates for depletions (logging, fire, etc)
- Insertion of updated young stand attributes
- Projection/update of stand attributes due to growth
Timber Species Identifier (TSI)
Timber Species Identifier (TSI) is a multi-faceted and automated process that analyzes LiDAR point cloud data to determine the location and species of individual trees. TSI's species identification capability represents a true innovation and a tremendous advantage to the forestry industry, allowing companies to extract the maximum return and operational benefit from their LiDAR investment.
More About TSI
Block Design Tool (BDT)
Our Block Design Tool (BDT) is built on the ESRI ArcGIS engine and allows the forester to outline proposed harvest areas and determine potential profitability based on harvest cost and revenue parameters. BDT is offered as an add-on to the Timber Species Identifier (TSI) and takes full advantage of the tailor-made (TSI) data formats.
Revenue figures are species-specific and based on optimized product formulas. Product types can be changed to suit each company.
Harvest method costs are slope-based and depicted in $/m3 of volume to be harvested. Road and crossing costs are determined by length of feature and the amount of the side-slope in the proposed path.
Enabled by the inclusion of the TSI species data, BDT is uniquely positioned to provide the forester a timely projection of a block's possible profitability
