Taper equations are indispensable tools for characterizing the stem profile of trees, providing valuable insights for forest management, timber inventory, and optimal assortments allocation. The recent progress in Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) has revolutionized forest inventory practices by enabling non-destructive data collection. In this study, four taper models from three different model categories were established based on point cloud data of 219 Pinus nigra trees. The taper equations fitted with TLS data were used to predict the diameter at specific stem heights and the total stem volume. The results show that among fitted models, the Max and Burkhart segmented model calibrated by the means of a mixed-effects approach provided the best estimate of the diameter at different heights and the total stem volume evaluated for different diameter at breast height (DBH) classes. In numerical terms, this model estimated the diameter and the volume with a respective overall error of 0.781 cm and 0.021 m3. The predicted profile also shows that above a relative height of 0.7, the diameter error tends to increase due to the low reliability of data collected beyond the base of the crown primarily caused by interference from branches and leaves. Nevertheless, this study shows that TLS technology presents a compelling opportunity and a promising non-destructive alternative for generating taper profiles and estimating tree volume.
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Citation
Boukhris I, Puletti N, Vonderach C, Guasti M, Lahssini S, Santini M, Valentini R (2024). Comparative analysis of taper models for Pinus nigra Arn. using terrestrial laser scanner acquired data. iForest 17: 203-212. - doi: 10.3832/ifor4525-017
Academic Editor
Angelo Nolè
Paper history
Received: Nov 17, 2023
Accepted: Jun 25, 2024
First online: Jul 22, 2024
Publication Date: Aug 31, 2024
Publication Time: 0.90 months
© SISEF - The Italian Society of Silviculture and Forest Ecology 2024
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