Cle Elum Ridge Forest and Snow Lidar Survey for Pre- and Post-Treatment Analysis

A 2023 drone-based lidar survey of a mixed-conifer forest on Cle Elum Ridge, Washington, conducted on 6 March 2023 by the Natural Hazards Reconnaissance (RAPID) Facility. The dataset provides high-resolution point clouds at approximately 100 points per square meter, detailing vegetation structure and snow-on surface topography in areas with and without fuel-reduction treatments. It complements a 2021 survey to enable pre- and post-treatment comparisons of forest structure and snowpack.

Use Cases

• Validate snow depth and distribution models based on detailed snow-on surface topography data.
• Quantify snow-forest interactions based on three-dimensional vegetation structure information.
• Assess the hydrologic impact of fuel-reduction treatments based on pre- and post-treatment lidar comparisons.
• Support forest and hazard management decision-making based on high-resolution canopy and terrain data.

Strengths

• High-resolution point cloud data with an average density of approximately 100 points per square meter.
• Enables direct pre- and post-treatment comparison by complementing a 2021 airborne lidar dataset.
• Targets both treated and untreated forest stands across north- and south-facing slopes for controlled analysis.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and total file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The dataset's temporal coverage is limited to a single survey date in March 2023.

Provenance

Source

Natural Hazards Reconnaissance (RAPID) Facility via the NSF NHERI DesignSafe platform.

Collection Method

Drone-based survey using a Freefly Alta X drone equipped with a Phoenix MiniRanger lidar sensor and Leica GS18T GNSS receiver.

Time Range

Survey conducted on 6 March 2023.

Freshness

Last updated 2025-11-13 08:10:07; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Cle Elum Ridge, Washington, USA.