Utikuma Region Alberta lidar canopy height model time series

The dataset includes 6 x 5 m resolution raster canopy height models derived from multiple return airborne laser scanning (ALS) datasets (all sampled at >1pt / m2) collected during the growing seasons of 2002, 2008, 2011 (pre-fire), 2016, 2018, and 2019 (post-fire). Some areas have undergone shorter fire return interval as fire burned part of the area in 1956, 2011, and in both 1956 and 2011. ALS data sources: 2002 collected by Optech Inc. (Toronto, Ont.) using an airborne laser terrain mapper (ALTM) 2050 as part of the HEAD project (University of Alberta, University of Western Ontario) 2008 collected by Airborne Imaging Inc. (Calgary, AB) with an Optech Inc. ALTM 3100 and licensed to the Government of Alberta. 2011 collected using an Optech Inc. ALTM 3100 by AGRG and C-CLEAR (Nova Scotia Community College) 2016, 2018, 2019 collected using a Teledyne Optech Inc. Titan multi-spectral lidar by the ARTeMiS Lab, University of Lethbridge. All data share a common spatial reference frame and datum (UTM WGS84, zone 11N). Elevations are given in ellipsoidal height. Canopy height models were derived based on the maximum height within 1 m x 1 m cells, subtracted from the ground digital elevation model. These were resampled to 5 m x 5 m cells to reduce the influence of lower return densities found in older datasets and thus improve the accuracy of time-based comparisons. For more information on the raw datasets and associated time series analysis, see: Jones, Chasmer, Devito, Hopkinson, 2024. Shortening fire return interval predisposes west-central boreal peatlands to more rapid vegetation growth and transition to forest cover. Global Change Biology.