Generation of crown bulk density for Pinus sylvestris L. from lidar

The use of lidar data to estimate critical variables needed for modeling wildfire behavior was tested on a Scots pine forest (Pinus sylvestris L.) in central Spain. Lidar data accurately estimated crown bulk density at the plot level (r(2)= 0.80). Lidar data could be used to directly estimate crown volume (r(2) = 0.92) and foliage biomass (r(2) = 0.84), which together produced better results than directly fitting the lidar data to crown bulk density. Incorporating equations that relate tree diameter at breast height and other forest parameters improved estimates of foliage biomass. Individual tree level analyses were not completely successful due to difficulty in accurately assigning laser pulses to the correct tree (r(2) = 0.14). (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.