Volumetric lidar return patterns from an old-growth tropical rainforest canopy

Rainforests represent the epitome of structural complexity in terrestrial ecosystems. However, measures of three-dimensional canopy structure are limited to a few areas typically < 1 ha with construction crane or walkway/platform access,An innovative laser profiling system, the Laser Vegetation Imaging Sensor (LVIS), was used to map canopy structure (i.e. based on height and vertical distribution of laser returns) of a tropical rainforest in Costa Rica. Within a approximate to 1 km(2) area of mature rainforest, canopy top height ranged from 8.4 to 51.6 m based on the altimeter measures. The laser return density was most concentrated in the horizontal layer located 20-30 m above the ground. Spatial patterns of the return were found to be isotropic based on north-south versus east-west vertical return profiles and exhibited properties of self-similarity.