LiDAR-Derived Tree Canopy and Vegetation Outlines for South West England

78,000 vegetation outlines and tree tops above 1 meter in height, processed from LiDAR data. The data were created for Cornwall and Devon as part of the Tellus South West project during July and August 2013.

Use Cases

• Analyze vegetation outlines and tree top points to model woody cover density and distribution across the region.
• Use the digital terrain model (DTM) and digital surface model (DSM) layers to calculate canopy height and structure metrics.
• Map land cover changes by comparing LiDAR-derived canopy data from 2013 with subsequent surveys.
• Integrate tree top point locations with other spatial datasets for habitat connectivity or urban forestry studies.

Strengths

• Data derived from raw LiDAR surveys, providing high-resolution structural information.
• Covers the entire land area of Cornwall and Devon west of Exmouth.
• Includes both polyline vegetation outlines and point locations for tree tops.
• Processed from both a digital terrain model (DTM) and a digital surface model (DSM).

Limitations

• Temporal coverage is limited to a single acquisition period in July-August 2013.
• Spatial coverage is restricted to South West England, not nationally representative.
• Data describes features above 1m height, potentially omitting understory or young vegetation.

Provenance

Source

Environmental Information Data Centre

Collection Method

Processed from raw LiDAR data into a digital terrain model (DTM) and digital surface model (DSM).

Time Range

July-August 2013

Freshness

Metadata updated March 2026, but underlying data is from 2013.

Geography

Cornwall and Devon (land west of Exmouth), South West England