S.S Shinkarenko, S.A. Bartalev, M.A. Bogodukhov, V.O. Zharko. Assessing the capabilities of determining the height and projective cover of protective forest planting using ICESat-2 data // Current issues of Earth remote sensing from space. 2023. V. 20. No. 2. Pp. 174-183. DOI: 10.21046/2070-7401-2023-20-2-174-183.
Abstract: The article is devoted to the results of the analysis of the possibilities of using the ATL08 information product based on data from the ATLAS/ICESat-2 satellite lidar (Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System/Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite) to determine the height of protective forest planting. Elevation marks corresponding to vegetation according to lidar data for 2019–2022 were compared with the results of processing aerial photography materials performed in the Volgograd Oblast in 2022. A significant relationship was established between the average and maximum values of canopy height, determined based on the aerial photography materials and using laser scanning data in segments of 20×14 m, when they are covered with trees and shrubs by more than 50%. For average height values, the root mean square error (RMS) was ±0.7 m, and the coefficient of determination R2 = 0.85; for maximum height values, these indicators were respectively RMS = ±2.2 m and R2 = 0.83. A comparison of projective coverage based on lidar data, calculated as the ratio of the number of photons above a certain threshold height to the total number of photons in a segment, and aerial photography data showed the insufficient accuracy of this approach. The results obtained indicate the promise of using ATL08 lidar data to estimate the height of protective forest plantations, but not to determine projective cover.