2012 Vegetation Height Model NFI

A national vegetation height model was calculated for Switzerland using digital aerial images. We used the stereo aerial images acquired by the Federal Office of Topography swisstopo using the ADS80 sensor to first calculate a digital surface model (DSM) with a very high spatial resolution (1 × 1 m). The DSM was then normalized to obtain the actual vegetation heights using a digital terrain model (DTM) based on laser data with the buildings masked out, and to produce a vegetation height model (VHM). Such a model will be calculated in the framework of the Swiss National Forest Inventory (NFI) with consistent methods and a very high level of detail. For covering the whole of Switzerland, we use summer aerial images from six years.