VecTree - Concepts for 3D modelling of deciduous trees from terrestrial Lidar

This paper presents some concepts for 3D-modeling of deciduous trees using terrestrial Lidar, by presenting a novel approach (VecTree) by LAMPRECHT (2013), which considers itself as a further developed slicing approach. The model takes advantage of cross-section radii to describe the surface as a series of truncated cones, which corresponds to a hierarchical graph. The modelling is done iteratively in the growing direction, in which search spheres are defined around each determined cross section. The topology of the points is represented by a clustering approach, which considers the pairwise spatial neighbourhood of the points. The identification of a branch or trunk section is done by fitting a circle to each slice. In this paper the modelling approach is explained step by step and the implementation is described too. This approach shall mainly propose alternative concepts of modelling for the description of the trunks or branches, e.g. to optimize the volume estimations or the determination of branch diameters or angles.