Research article / INCDS85

DOI: 10.15287/afr.2018.1189

Data collection methods for forest inventory: a comparison between an integrated conventional equipment and terrestrial laser scanning

Bogdan Apostol , Serban Chivulescu, Albert Ciceu, Marius Petrila, Ionut-Silviu Pascu, Ecaterina Nicoleta Apostol, Stefan Leca, Adrian Lorent, Mihai Tanase, Ovidiu Badea

Bogdan Apostol
“Marin Drăcea” National Research and Development Institute in Forestry, 128 B-dul. Eroilor, Voluntari, Ilfov, 077190 Romania. Email: bogdanap_ro@yahoo.com
Serban Chivulescu
“Marin Drăcea” National Research and Development Institute in Forestry, 128 B-dul. Eroilor, Voluntari, Ilfov, 077190 Romania
Albert Ciceu
“Marin Drăcea” National Research and Development Institute in Forestry, 128 B-dul. Eroilor, Voluntari, Ilfov, 077190 Romania
Marius Petrila
“Marin Drăcea” National Research and Development Institute in Forestry, 128 B-dul. Eroilor, Voluntari, Ilfov, 077190 Romania
Ionut-Silviu Pascu
“Marin Drăcea” National Research and Development Institute in Forestry, 128 B-dul. Eroilor, Voluntari, Ilfov, 077190 Romania & Faculty of Silviculture and Forest Engineering, “Transilvania” University of Braşov, 1 Șirul Beethoven, 500123, Romania
Ecaterina Nicoleta Apostol
“Marin Drăcea” National Research and Development Institute in Forestry, 128 B-dul. Eroilor, Voluntari, Ilfov, 077190 Romania
Stefan Leca
“Marin Drăcea” National Research and Development Institute in Forestry, 128 B-dul. Eroilor, Voluntari, Ilfov, 077190 Romania
Adrian Lorent
“Marin Drăcea” National Research and Development Institute in Forestry, 128 B-dul. Eroilor, Voluntari, Ilfov, 077190 Romania
Mihai Tanase
“Marin Drăcea” National Research and Development Institute in Forestry, 128 B-dul. Eroilor, Voluntari, Ilfov, 077190 Romania & Department of Geology, Geography, and Environment, University of Alcalá de Henares, Spain & School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, University of Melbourne, Australia
Ovidiu Badea
“Marin Drăcea” National Research and Development Institute in Forestry, 128 B-dul. Eroilor, Voluntari, Ilfov, 077190 Romania & Faculty of Silviculture and Forest Engineering, “Transilvania” University of Braşov, 1 Șirul Beethoven, 500123, Romania

Online First: December 31, 2018
Apostol, B., Chivulescu, S., Ciceu, A., Petrila, M., Pascu, I., Apostol, E., Leca, S., Lorent, A., Tanase, M., Badea, O. 2018. Data collection methods for forest inventory: a comparison between an integrated conventional equipment and terrestrial laser scanning. Annals of Forest Research DOI:10.15287/afr.2018.1189


This study aims to present a comparison analysis of two data collection methods that can be used in order to obtain reference ground truth data for forestry – a conventional method that uses specific equipment such as Field Map system, caliper and vertex inclinometer and a modern method based on terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) technology. The research was conducted in six circular Permanent Plots (PPs) with an area of 500 square
meters each, within thinning and selected cuttings stands of sessile oak (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.), common beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst.), all situated in the Southern Carpathians (Mihăești, Mușeteși and Vidraru Forest Districts). Using the conventional method, the dendrometric tree  characteristics such as height, diameter at breast height (dbh) and tree position were directly recorded in the
field. As a modern method for data collection, a Faro Focus3D X 130 HDR terrestrial laser scanning device was used to scan each plot and to extract the dbh and height of the trees. In this regard, two scanning approaches were used - single scan (SS) and multiple scan (MS). In order to compare the two data acquisitions methods, we applied a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) analysis on the basis of which we could establish the pros and cons of using the two methods. Therefore, one can choose the most advantageous method for obtaining the reference data for forestry, in terms of equipment acquisition cost, personnel skills and qualifications, data collection working time, accuracy of the data recorded, post processing time, labor costs. Although the use of TLS in forest inventory is a technology with high potential, further investigations need to be done, especially in the case of automatic extraction of the tree height. For accurate reference ground data for forest inventory purposes, we still recommend using the conventional methods although they are time consuming.


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