Global Canopy Cover and Vertical Profile Metrics from Spaceborne Lidar

2019 to present laser ranging data from the GEDI instrument on the International Space Station. The Level 2B product extracts biophysical metrics like canopy cover and Plant Area Index from waveforms, with data provided by NASA's LPCLOUD. Data acquisition was suspended from March 2023 to April 2024.

Use Cases

• Model above-ground biomass using canopy cover, Plant Area Index (PAI), and Foliage Height Diversity (FHD) metrics.
• Map global forest structure and habitat complexity from latitude, longitude, and vertical profile metrics like Plant Area Volume Density (PAVD).
• Analyze temporal changes in ecosystem dynamics by comparing canopy height and cover metrics across different acquisition dates.
• Validate terrestrial ecosystem models with precise geospatial footprint data including elevation and height measurements.

Strengths

• Global coverage between 51.6° N and 51.6° S latitudes.
• High-resolution data with an average spatial footprint of 25 meters.
• Provides 96 data layers per ground transect for detailed vertical structure analysis.

Limitations

• Contains known data acquisition gaps, including a suspension from December 2019 to January 2020.
• Some files have incorrect Reference Ground Track numbers in filenames, requiring user cross-reference.
• Instrument was in hibernation from March 2023 to April 2024, creating a temporal gap.

Provenance

Source

NASA Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) mission, processed by LPCLOUD.

Collection Method

High-resolution laser ranging (lidar) observations from the International Space Station.

Time Range

2019 to present, with operational gaps.

Freshness

null

Geography

Global between 51.6° N and 51.6° S latitudes.