RT Journal Article
T1 Shrub height estimation for habitat conservation in NW Iberian Peninsula (Spain) using UAV LiDAR point clouds
A1 Rodríguez Dorribo, Patricia
A1 Alonso Rego, Cecilia
A1 Díaz Varela, Ramón Alberto
K1 LiDAR
K1 UAS
K1 Digital Terrain Model
K1 Canopy height model
K1 Shrubland height
K1 DJI Zenmuse L1
AB This study aimed to develop and validate a method of estimating 3D parameters from DJI Zenmuse L1 LiDAR on DJI Matrice 300 RTK UAV data to characterise and monitor the structure and conservation status of dense shrub formations. The shrub heights were estimated using Progressive Morphological Filter (PMF) and the Ground Filter module of the FUSION/LDV software. A digital terrain model (DTM) was interpolated with RMSE 0.23 and 0.27 m, respectively, and a normalised canopy height model (nCHM) was calculated by subtracting it from the LiDAR data and the best DTM obtained. The reliability of the estimates was evaluated against georeferenced field data. In addition, the study examined the impact of vegetation characteristics and return reduction in the original point cloud on the accuracy of LiDAR-data derived . Significant differences were found in the correlations between observed and estimated data for the DTM (R2 = 0.9998) and nCHM heights (R2 = 0.51/0.54). The corresponding RMSE values were 0.23 and 0.34 m. Moreover, no significant differences in the reliability were found for different vegetation types, whereas reduction point cloud density (up to 25–50 returns/m2 ) did not significantly affect accuracy. In conclusion, lightweight UAV LiDAR can effectively detect sub-metric scale vegetation 3D structure, useful for fine-scale habitat conservation.
PB Taylor & Francis
YR 2024
FD 2024-12
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10347/42541
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10347/42541
LA eng
NO Rodríguez Dorribo, P., Alonso Rego, C., & Díaz Varela, R. A. (2025). Shrub height estimation for habitat conservation in NW Iberian Peninsula (Spain) using UAV LiDAR point clouds. European Journal of Remote Sensing, 58(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/22797254.2024.2438626
NO This work was supported by the Xunta de Galicia (Consellería de Cultura, Educación, Formación Profesional e Universidades) under Grant Research Competitive Reference Group (GRC GI-1809 BIOAPLIC, ED431C 2019/07); Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Campus Terra, GI-1809 under Grant “Contrato 2022- AD013 ao abeiro do Convenio de Colaboración entre a USC e a Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Universidades polo que se regula o Campus de Especialización Campus Terra”; flights were supported by LIFE Nature and Biodiversity Programme, European Union under Grant Life in Common Land (LIFE16 NAT/ES/ 000707
DS Minerva
RD 7 jun 2026