STRUCTURAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL FOREST STATUS DETERMINATION THROUGH UAV (UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES), LIDAR (LASER IMAGING DETECTION AND RANGING) AND THERMAL DATA INTEGRATION.

A Spanish company engaged in forest management in consortium with a University from the South of Spain, are seeking potential collaborators for the development of an alternative to the traditional field data collecting of forest stands and landscape, using Remote sensing data for the determination of structural and biophysical parameters on Mediterranean forest ecosystem. The objective is to combine the use of LIDAR and thermal data for estimating structural and physiological status in forest inventory. We are looking for European SMEs experienced in forest and landscape management to collaborate in forest mensuration and research organisations or university for the improvement of Lidar-thermal equipment and the develop a software package to data management.

Remote sensing data, particularly the use of satellite imagery, has been proposed as the best alternative to field acquisition from landscape to stand scale. A large number of studies have showed relationships between biophysical parameters (e.g. LAI and chlorophyll) with broadband vegetation indices (VIs). A new generation of LIDAR and thermal sensor has showed a clear improvement over field based surveys and multispectral/hyperspectral data to evaluate tree and forest properties. The goal of this project is to improve the acquisition of LIDAR-thermal data for the determination of structural and biophysical parameters in Mediterranean forest ecosystems, in particular in open oak forests (dehesa) and pine plantations, which cover large extension on Mediterranean Basin countries. The development of this decision tool will be useful in the detection of diseases, analysis of plant vigour, mapping and classification of vegetation and change detection. The consortium consisting is seeking partners to improve of Lidar-Thermal equipment and data pre-processing, The Application of Lidar high-spatial resolution data and thermal imagery to obtain spatial and temporal variability in canopy structure and temperature and develop a software package management.

 

 

Current and Potential Domain of Application:

Quantification of forest structure parameters
Quantification of biophysical parameters of the vegetation
Estimation of canopy coverage, biomass and carbon flux
Ecological modeling

Environmental and Biometrics Sensors, Actuators
Computer Software
Data Processing/Data Interchange, Middleware
Imaging, Image Processing, Pattern Recognition

Spanish SME: data field collecting and processing in canopy structure.

University: Application of LIDAR high resolution data and thermal imagery to obtain spatial and temporal variability in canopy structure and temperature (as predictor of biophysical parameters).