Data for: UK redwoods terrestrial laser scanner point clouds

Giant redwoods (Sequoiadendron giganteum) are some of the UK’s largest
trees, despite only being introduced in the mid-19th century. Given recent
interest in planting redwoods in the UK, partly due to their carbon
sequestration potential and also their undoubted public appeal, an
understanding of their viability is important. However, little or no
research has been conducted to quantitatively estimate their carbon uptake
in UK conditions. We used 3D terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) to make
detailed structure measurements of individual S. giganteum  trees
at three sites, to estimate aboveground biomass (AGB) and annual biomass
accumulation rates. We show that UK-grown S. giganteum can sequester
carbon at a rate of 80 - 100 kg C year-1, varying with climate, management
and age. This accumulation rate is 2.5 and 20 times faster than
commonly-grown UK plantation tree species. We develop new UK-specific
allometric models for S. giganteumwhich fit observed AGB with r2 >
0.93 and bias < 2% and can be used to estimate S. giganteum AGB
more generally. S. giganteum appears to represent a small but potentially
important addition to the UK’s carbon sequestration efforts and this work
provides a baseline for estimating their longer term AGB and carbon
sequestration capacity.