NASA's LVIS (Laser Vegetation Imaging Sensor) dataset provides airborne laser scanning measurements of forest structure over the Bartlett Experimental Forest in New Hampshire. The GSFC/LVIS Team collected data to derive products like canopy height, aboveground biomass, carbon stocks, and surface topography. The dataset was last updated in June 2003.
Use Cases
- Estimate aboveground biomass and carbon stocks from canopy height and vertical structure data.
- Model surface roughness and topography using bare-earth elevation measurements.
- Analyze the entropy or information density of the surveyed forest surface for structural complexity.
- Map the vertical profile of tree canopies to study forest growth and health.
Strengths
- Data collected using the LVIS sensor, a simulator for the Vegetation Canopy Lidar (VCL) mission.
- Provides multiple derived data products including biomass estimates, canopy structure, and surface roughness.
Limitations
- Dataset is temporally stale, with the last update recorded in 2003.
- Spatial coverage is limited to a single experimental forest in New England, USA.
Provenance
- Source
- GSFC/LVIS Team, NASA Earthdata (SCIOPS organization).
- Collection Method
- Airborne laser scanning using the Laser Vegetation Imaging Sensor (LVIS).
- Time Range
- null
- Freshness
- 2003-06-26
- Geography
- Bartlett Experimental Forest, central New Hampshire, USA.