Laser range-finding applications in forestry
Data collection is used for forest resource inventory, that is, tree height, height that can be used as commercial timber, vegetation mapping, wild special tree species, excellent tree species location, determination of tree grade and economic value in the area, or in cultivation management research. branches, determining tree locations where specific heights are produced, profiling felled volumes, and determining resource boundaries; used for topography, mapping, and for general purposes of baling lumber pathways when harvesting lumber considering baling lumber methods Pre-construction surveys of roads and rough trails are important. Various problems (eg: cost, accuracy, obstructions, etc.) may be encountered using conventional surveys, aerial photography, and GPS positioning that have been available in the past.
Application of Laser Range Finder in Forestry
Field data collection is a problem that has long plagued surveyors, cartographers, GIS database managers, engineers and researchers. The problem is simple: how to efficiently and accurately collect location and physical characterization data for mapping, cataloging, inventory, and storage in databases.
Finding out the outcome of this problem in a given situation is annoying. because:
(1) There may be many methods and techniques that can be used;
(2) In the vast majority of cases, no method alone can provide complete and satisfactory results.
The application of laser technology, especially the laser rangefinder developed by American Laser Technology Corporation (LTI), has been perfected since 1990, when it was used as a field measurement prototype by the Forestry Bureau of the United States Department of Agriculture and evaluated its future development and application, and it can be combined with data acquisition device, GPS connection, and can be configured with a variety of software, so that forestry surveying advances from the hand-operated compass, rope, inclinometer and old-fashioned telescope to the era of single-person operation, all-position, safe and comprehensive multi-purpose instruments.
The measurement system designed by LTI is suitable for basic vegetation resources and timber sales inspection and planning measurement, logging volume distribution map and road survey measurement. By June 1993, the US Forest Service had purchased more than 150 of these instruments. In the field planning application of USDA Forest Service, the laser rangefinder is not only fully functional, safe and durable, but also cost-effective, especially where the target is unclear. This is evident from the scrublands of northern Idaho to the great rain forests of southeastern Alaska.
China, with its vast resources, is rich in forestry resources. With the large-scale production brought about by the reform and opening up, the important position of forestry in the national economy has become increasingly prominent, and the demand for commercial timber has surged. How to plan the development of forestry, measure forestry resources with higher precision, and check and catalog forestry resources with a focus on timber sales have become important issues for the forestry department. Our introduction of laser measurement technology will help promote my country's forestry measurement technology into a new era.
1) Prohibition and inspection of illegal land reclamation
Combining laser measuring instruments with GPS, GIS and their software, and carrying out environmental monitoring with portable computers is currently the most popular research project in various academic institutions. In forestry, it is used for the banning and checking of illegal land reclamation. However, because GPS may be restricted by terrain, further research and testing are needed. In addition, it can also be combined with a digital camera to take pictures of violations and archive them for evidence of banning.
2) Land lease inspection
The combination of multi-functional laser measuring instrument and GPS to carry out land lease inspection is not only fast, but also has high accuracy. In addition, the digital map files can also be pre-entered into a portable computer and carried to the site for inventory and comparison work.
3) Inventory of security forests outside the area
At present, the inspection of security forests outside the bureau area uses electronic flat panel for inspection and pile placement. However, due to the lack of triangular points, the inventory work is often slow. If the centimeter-level GPS can be used to arrange points, and then the laser measuring instrument is used for surveying, and the target coordinate program function is used for pile placement, it should be able to speed up the inventory work and reduce the post-event map data work.
