Cost-Effective Determination of Biomass from Aerial Images

This paper describes an ongoing collaborative research program between the Computer Science and the Forestry and Wildlife Management Departments at the University of Massachusetts to develop cost-effective methodologies for monitoring biomass and other environmental parameters over large areas. The data acquisition system consists of a differential GPS system, a 3-axis solid state inertial reference system, a small format (70mm) aerial survey camera, two video cameras, a laser profiling altimeter, and a PC based data recording system. Two aerial survey techniques for determining biomass are discussed. One primarily based on video and the other relying additionally on the 3D terrain models generated from the aerial photographs. In the first technique, transects are flown at 1,000 feet with dual-camera wide angle and zoom video, and a profiling laser operating at 238 Hz. The video coverage is used to identify individual tree species, and the laser profiler is used to estimate tree heigh...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 1999
• Where: ISD
• Authors: Howard J. Schultz, Dana Slaymaker, Chris Holmes, Frank Stolle, Allen R. Hanson, Edward M. Riseman, M. Delaney, M. Powell
• Keywords: Aerial Survey, Database, ISD 1999, Laser Profiling Altimeter, Terrain Models