Point cloud data from terrestrial laser scanning for stem volume modelling of Scots pine trees

Abstract

Stem volume is a key forest inventory attribute characterizing growth and yield of individual trees and forest stands. Three-dimensional information from terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) can be used to reconstruct tree stems and provide information on stem volume as well as stem shape. We collected diameter at breast height and height information with traditional field measurements as well as preprocessed TLS point cloud data on 230 Scots pine trees (Pinus sylvestris L.) from southern Finland. The data set here includes three-dimensional information on Scots pine tree stems derived from TLS point clouds. The usage of this data set can include, but is not limited to, development of point cloud processing algorithms for single tree stem reconstruction and investigations of of stem volume modelling for Scot pine.

This data set includes two files: Scots_pines.txt includes DBH and height information based on field measurements from the 230 Scots pine trees. File includes the following columns: treeID, DBH, and h, where DBH is presented in cm and h (i.e. tree height) in m. Stem_points.zip, on the other hand, includes 230 laz-files where figure in the name of the laz-file refers to the tree ID in Scots_pines.txt-file. Laz-files include three columns that describe x, y, and z, coordinates (in meters) of stem points in a local coordinate system extracted from the normalized TLS point clouds (i.e. z coordinate describes height above ground).