Mapping stand-level forest biophysical variables for a mixedwood boreal forest using lidar: an examination of scanning density

Light detection and ranging (lidar) is becoming an increasingly popular technology among scientists for the development of predictive models of forest biophysical variables. However, before this technology can be adopted with confidence for long-term monitoring applications in Canada, robust models must be developed that can be applied and validated over large and complex forested areas. This will require scaling-up from current models developed from high-density lidar data to low-density data collected at higher altitudes. This paper investigates the effect of lowering the average point spacing of discrete lidar returns on models of forest biophysical variables. Validation of results revealed that high-density models are well correlated with mean dominant height, basal area, crown closure, and average aboveground biomass (R-2 = 0.84, 0.89, 0.60, and 0.91, respectively). Low-density models could not accurately predict crown closure (R-2 = 0.36). However, they did provide slightly improved estimates for mean dominant height, basal area, and average aboveground biomass (R-2 = 0.90, 0.91, and 0.92, respectively). Maps were generated and validated for the entire study area from the low-density models. The ability of low-density models to accurately map key biophysical variables is a positive indicator for the utility of lidar data for monitoring large forested areas.