Li Zhangmai, Qiao Qinghua, Han Zibin, Liu Xinyi, Wang Yueyang, Tang Hongzhao, Deng Lei
The College of Resource Environment and Tourism, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China.
Natural Resources Survey and Monitoring Research Centre, the Chinese Academy of Surveying and Mapping, Beijing, China.
PLoS One. 2025 Sep 5;20(9):e0331126. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0331126. eCollection 2025.
With the growing global emphasis on forest resource monitoring, evaluating the accuracy of retrieving key individual tree parameters-such as tree position, tree height, and diameter at breast height (DBH)-using Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) has become an important research focus. TLS has been widely applied in forest surveys due to its significant advantages in data acquisition efficiency and measurement precision. However, studies on the accuracy of extracting forest parameters from single-station, single-scan TLS data remain limited, underscoring the need for systematic evaluation and validation. This paper analyzes the accuracy and effectiveness of TLS in extracting structural parameters (tree height and DBH) and its position using Poplar and Styphnolobium as examples by using TLS, Airborne laser Scanning (ALS), and combining with field measurements. Results show that tree height estimates from single-scan TLS is limited in accuracy: the RMSE of 11.61 m in the Populus plot and 2.13 m in the Styphnolobium plot. Within a 50 m radius, single-scan TLS achieves a tree detection rate of 55.96-64.26% and a DBH RMSE of 1.60 cm (RRMSE: 9.03%). In addition, the point root mean square error of individual tree measurements remains at 0.11 m. These findings highlight the potential of TLS as an effective tool for forest inventory and provide a basis for evaluating the reliability of TLS-based plot measurements.
随着全球对森林资源监测的日益重视，利用地面激光扫描（TLS）评估关键单株树木参数（如树位、树高和胸径（DBH））的检索精度已成为重要的研究重点。由于TLS在数据采集效率和测量精度方面具有显著优势，已被广泛应用于森林调查。然而，关于从单站、单次扫描TLS数据中提取森林参数的精度研究仍然有限，这凸显了进行系统评估和验证的必要性。本文以杨树和槐树为例，通过使用TLS、机载激光扫描（ALS）并结合实地测量，分析了TLS在提取结构参数（树高和DBH）及其位置方面的准确性和有效性。结果表明，单次扫描TLS对树高的估计精度有限：杨树样地的均方根误差（RMSE）为11.61米，槐树样地为2.13米。在半径50米范围内，单次扫描TLS的树木检测率为55.96 - 64.26%，DBH的RMSE为1.60厘米（相对均方根误差：9.03%）。此外，单株树木测量的点均方根误差保持在0.11米。这些发现突出了TLS作为森林清查有效工具的潜力，并为评估基于TLS的样地测量的可靠性提供了依据。
