Individual tree and crown identification in the Danube floodplain forests based on airborne laser scanning data

In the work, a fully automatic approach for individual tree and crown identification using laser scanning data is presented. The automatic identification was realized in parts of the Danube floodplain forests (47˚52΄N, 17˚32΄E). Poplar and willow plantations are dominant in the area, but there are also reservations with mixed forests of broadleaves. The general principle of workflow was identification of local maxima in the segmented point cloud and, according to specific dendrometric criteria, to decide which of the local maxima represent the tree tops. For this purpose the module “Tree and Crown Identification” from the “reFLex” software was used. Outputs of automatic detection were compared with ground data from reference plots (346 trees). The RMSE of tree and crown identification with the “reFLex” software in the area of interest was ±21 %.