The role of LiDAR in sustainable forest management

Forest characterization with light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data has recently garnered much scientific and operational attention. The number of forest inventory attributes that may be directly measured with LiDAR is limited; however, when considered within the context of all the measured and derived attributes required to complete a forest inventory, LiDAR can be a valuable tool in the inventory process. In this paper, we present the status of LiDAR remote sensing of forests, including issues related to instrumentation, data collection, data processing, costs, and attribute estimation. The information needs of sustainable forest management provide the context within which we consider future opportunities for LiDAR and automated data processing.