A shortest path based tree isolation method for UAV LiDAR data

Summary

A description and test results for a new method for automatically isolating individual trees from UAV LiDAR point clouds is presented. The isolation method is based on shortest path computations with height from the ground working as a restriction. The method is tested applied to a 4 ha tropical forest plot, which is also scanned with TLS to provide comparison data for the isolation results. The comparison results show that the on average the intersection volume of the common voxels between TLS and UAV trees covers 56 % of the TLS tree and 44 % of the UAV trees.