Abstract:

Lidar (light detection and ranging) remote sensing is a breakthrough of active remote sensing technology in recent years. It has shown enormous potential for forest parameters retrieval. Lidar remote sensing has the unique advantage of providing horizontal and vertical information at high accuracies. Especially it can be used to measure forest height directly with unprecedented accuracy. This article introduces the basic principle of lidar remote sensing and the lidar systems of large footprint and small footprint. The status of the technology, the retrieval methods of forest parameters such as tree height, biomass, canopy vertical structure and crown closure, and the prospect of the application of lidar technology in forestry have been reviewed in detail in this paper.

Key words: lidar, forest height, biomass, canopy vertical structure, remote sensing