Weighing trees with lasers: reducing uncertainty in tropical forest biomass and allometry
Lead Research Organisation:
University College London
Department Name: Geography
Abstract
Measuring the volume and structure of a tree accurately allows us to calculate the total above-ground carbon (C) stored in the tree, a very important property. Trees remove CO2 from the atmosphere during photosynthesis and can store this C for decades or even centuries until the tree dies, when some of it is released back to the atmosphere through decomposition. Tropical forests store around half of all above-ground terrestrial C, but are at particular risk due to deforestation and degradation, as well as from changing rainfall and temperature patterns. Surprisingly, our knowledge of tropical forest C stocks is quite poor, and errors in these stocks are large and uncertain. This uncertainty feeds into estimates of CO2 emissions due to deforestation, degradation and land use change. We will address this major uncertainty in the terrestrial C cycle by deploying a new, NERC-funded terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) to scan 1000s of trees in tropical forests on three continents: Amazonia, the Congo Basin and SE Asia. The laser data will allow us to measure 3D tree volume and biomass non-destructively to within a few percent of the best current estimates, made by destructive harvesting and weighing. The current, large uncertainties arise because weighing a tree is extremely difficult: tropical trees may be over 50m tall, and weigh 100 tonnes or more. Harvesting also precludes revisiting trees over time to measure change. In practice, a small sample of trees that have been harvested and weighed are related to easy-to-measure parameters of diameter and height, using empirical 'allometric' (size-to-mass) relationships. These relationships are then used to translate diameter and height measurements made over wider areas into estimates of biomass. Allometry is also the only way to infer biomass at very large (pan-tropical) scales, from remote sensing measurements. Unfortunately, the sample of harvested trees underpinning global allometric relationships is geographically limited, and contains very few large trees. Current estimates of tropical forest C stocks from satellite and ground data, all based on these very limited allometry samples, diverge significantly in size and pattern, leading to heated debate as to why this should be.
We hope to settle this debate, given that our lidar-derived estimates of biomass are completely independent of allometry and unbiased in terms of tree size. We will 'weigh' more trees than are currently included in all global pan-tropical allometries and quantify uncertainty in the allometry models. We will also test assumptions made in allometric models regarding tree shape and wood density. Our measurements will also answer fundamental questions about geographical differences in structural characteristics across tropical forests. Our data will be vital for testing new estimates of biomass from remote sensing; the UK-led ESA BIOMASS RADAR and NASA GEDI laser missions will both estimate pan-tropical C stocks by relying on allometric relationships between forest height and biomass. Our work will feed into these two missions through long-standing collaborations with the lead scientists. More generally, the large number of tree measurements we will collect would be of great interest to researchers in tropical ecology, forestry, biodiversity, remote sensing and C mapping, among others.
A key aim of the project is to ensure the widest use of our results, by making our data and tools publicly available. We will work with partners to explore routes for commercial developments and input into government policy, particularly relating to forest management and C mapping and mitigation. Lastly, we will make our work accessible through a range of outreach activities, including developing links between a school in the Amazon and UK schools, to raise awareness of scientific, conservation and policy issues surrounding tropical forests.
We hope to settle this debate, given that our lidar-derived estimates of biomass are completely independent of allometry and unbiased in terms of tree size. We will 'weigh' more trees than are currently included in all global pan-tropical allometries and quantify uncertainty in the allometry models. We will also test assumptions made in allometric models regarding tree shape and wood density. Our measurements will also answer fundamental questions about geographical differences in structural characteristics across tropical forests. Our data will be vital for testing new estimates of biomass from remote sensing; the UK-led ESA BIOMASS RADAR and NASA GEDI laser missions will both estimate pan-tropical C stocks by relying on allometric relationships between forest height and biomass. Our work will feed into these two missions through long-standing collaborations with the lead scientists. More generally, the large number of tree measurements we will collect would be of great interest to researchers in tropical ecology, forestry, biodiversity, remote sensing and C mapping, among others.
A key aim of the project is to ensure the widest use of our results, by making our data and tools publicly available. We will work with partners to explore routes for commercial developments and input into government policy, particularly relating to forest management and C mapping and mitigation. Lastly, we will make our work accessible through a range of outreach activities, including developing links between a school in the Amazon and UK schools, to raise awareness of scientific, conservation and policy issues surrounding tropical forests.
Planned Impact
We target four groups of users with interests in C stocks, biomass, tree structure and tropical forests more generally to maximise the impact of our work: users of data and tools; commercial sector; policymakers; wider public.
Users of data and tools includes forestry sector, conservation, land management, other researchers. We will make TLS data, derived tree structure and analysis tools publicly available. We will integrate the TLS-derived tree measurements into the database coordinated by co-I S. Lewis (www.forestplots.net), including data query and analysis tools. Timescale: 1 year for database integration. TLS data will be archived at NEODC/CEMS and also provided to the TLS International Interest Group (TLSIIG) via PP Strahler, for community use. All code used to process the TLS data will be put on github to enable other researchers to process and analyse them. Timescale: project duration, ongoing.
Policymakers: we will address issues of direct policy relevance: C cycle uncertainty, forest inventory and management policy. These issues are core to government response to climate change, particularly UN Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+). This impact will be via PPs Herold, SAC, Forest Research, and ongoing collaborations with government agencies e.g. S. Lewis in Gabon (calibrating and validating national estimates of forest C stocks from airborne lidar for conservation and REDD+ readiness). We will work with PP Forest Research to test and improve existing UK forest inventory methods. Timescale: 1-2 years to show benefit of TLS methods; ongoing if demonstrated. Our data will add value to UK investment in the forthcoming ESA BIOMASS mission, through calibration and testing of retrievals (and via PP Quegan). Results will also feed into calibration and development for the NASA GEDI lidar mission (PP Dubayah). Timescale: 1-2 years for testing BIOMASS retrievals; 5+ years, for REDD+ positioning, and inclusion in BIOMASS, GEDI.
Commercial: we identify various opportunities for commercial exploitation of C stock mapping technology. Our allometry-free AGB estimates will enable PP Carbomap to assess their new airborne lidar-derived C stock estimates. Timescale: 1 year to provide 3D tree models; ongoing for testing new technology and retrievals. PP Planet Labs will work with us to test the feasibility of area-based C stock measurements using high spatial and temporal resolution satellite data: Timescale: 6 months. PP SAC will identify routes to policy and commercial data exploitation opportunities, including data hosting via the CEMS facility. Timescale: project duration. PP Skycap will explore UAV-based measurements of canopy height and cover, and how new low-cost lidar instruments might be used in this context. Timescale: project duration for development and then ongoing for commercial exploitation. PPs Herold and Schaaf will provide low-cost lidar instruments that we will test for biomass estimation. Such instruments may find much wider use in C stock mapping, eg in REDD+ activities, and we will exploit existing links with manufacturers and suppliers to develop these opportunities. Timescale: 1 year for demonstration; ongoing for exploitation.
Wider public: The project will provide a unique view of tropical forests that is particularly suited to engaging wider interest, due to its inherently visual nature. We will build on established links between a school in the Brazilian Amazon and UK schools to develop reciprocal work programmes and teaching materials to highlight environment, climate and biodiversity issues. PP Burkitt will develop web-based 3D visualisation of the TLS data. The PI and co-Is will expand existing outreach activities, such as the PI blog and involvement in TV (BBC, Reuters) and online teaching (ESA online) activities. Timescale: 1 year to set up school partnerships then self-sustaining; 1 year for visualisation; ongoing for other activities.
Users of data and tools includes forestry sector, conservation, land management, other researchers. We will make TLS data, derived tree structure and analysis tools publicly available. We will integrate the TLS-derived tree measurements into the database coordinated by co-I S. Lewis (www.forestplots.net), including data query and analysis tools. Timescale: 1 year for database integration. TLS data will be archived at NEODC/CEMS and also provided to the TLS International Interest Group (TLSIIG) via PP Strahler, for community use. All code used to process the TLS data will be put on github to enable other researchers to process and analyse them. Timescale: project duration, ongoing.
Policymakers: we will address issues of direct policy relevance: C cycle uncertainty, forest inventory and management policy. These issues are core to government response to climate change, particularly UN Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+). This impact will be via PPs Herold, SAC, Forest Research, and ongoing collaborations with government agencies e.g. S. Lewis in Gabon (calibrating and validating national estimates of forest C stocks from airborne lidar for conservation and REDD+ readiness). We will work with PP Forest Research to test and improve existing UK forest inventory methods. Timescale: 1-2 years to show benefit of TLS methods; ongoing if demonstrated. Our data will add value to UK investment in the forthcoming ESA BIOMASS mission, through calibration and testing of retrievals (and via PP Quegan). Results will also feed into calibration and development for the NASA GEDI lidar mission (PP Dubayah). Timescale: 1-2 years for testing BIOMASS retrievals; 5+ years, for REDD+ positioning, and inclusion in BIOMASS, GEDI.
Commercial: we identify various opportunities for commercial exploitation of C stock mapping technology. Our allometry-free AGB estimates will enable PP Carbomap to assess their new airborne lidar-derived C stock estimates. Timescale: 1 year to provide 3D tree models; ongoing for testing new technology and retrievals. PP Planet Labs will work with us to test the feasibility of area-based C stock measurements using high spatial and temporal resolution satellite data: Timescale: 6 months. PP SAC will identify routes to policy and commercial data exploitation opportunities, including data hosting via the CEMS facility. Timescale: project duration. PP Skycap will explore UAV-based measurements of canopy height and cover, and how new low-cost lidar instruments might be used in this context. Timescale: project duration for development and then ongoing for commercial exploitation. PPs Herold and Schaaf will provide low-cost lidar instruments that we will test for biomass estimation. Such instruments may find much wider use in C stock mapping, eg in REDD+ activities, and we will exploit existing links with manufacturers and suppliers to develop these opportunities. Timescale: 1 year for demonstration; ongoing for exploitation.
Wider public: The project will provide a unique view of tropical forests that is particularly suited to engaging wider interest, due to its inherently visual nature. We will build on established links between a school in the Brazilian Amazon and UK schools to develop reciprocal work programmes and teaching materials to highlight environment, climate and biodiversity issues. PP Burkitt will develop web-based 3D visualisation of the TLS data. The PI and co-Is will expand existing outreach activities, such as the PI blog and involvement in TV (BBC, Reuters) and online teaching (ESA online) activities. Timescale: 1 year to set up school partnerships then self-sustaining; 1 year for visualisation; ongoing for other activities.
Organisations
- University College London (Lead Research Organisation)
- UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH (Collaboration)
- Trees for Cities (Collaboration)
- European Space Agency (Collaboration)
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (Collaboration)
- University College London (Collaboration)
- Learning through Landscapes, Winchester (Collaboration)
- National Center for Scientific Research (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique CNRS) (Collaboration)
- Jubilee Primary School (Project Partner)
- Wageningen University & Research (Project Partner)
- Fettes College (Project Partner)
- Skycap (Project Partner)
- University of Maryland, College Park (Project Partner)
- Boston University (Project Partner)
- São Paulo State University (Project Partner)
- Satellite Applications Catapult (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
- Planet Labs (Project Partner)
- Forest Research (Project Partner)
- South Morningside Primary School (Project Partner)
- Boroughmuir High School (Project Partner)
- University of Leeds (Project Partner)
- CarboMap Ltd (Project Partner)
- University of Sheffield (Project Partner)
- Federal University of Para (Project Partner)
- University of Oxford (Project Partner)
- Tampere University (Project Partner)
- University of Edinburgh (Project Partner)
- University of Massachusetts Boston (Project Partner)
- City and Islington College (Project Partner)
Publications

Adams J
(2018)
Decoupling Canopy Structure and Leaf Biochemistry: Testing the Utility of Directional Area Scattering Factor (DASF)
in Remote Sensing


Binks O
(2021)
Canopy wetness in the Eastern Amazon
in Agricultural and Forest Meteorology



Burt A
(2018)
Extracting individual trees from lidar point clouds using treeseg
in Methods in Ecology and Evolution

Burt A
(2020)
Assessment of Bias in Pan-Tropical Biomass Predictions
in Frontiers in Forests and Global Change

Burt A
(2021)
New insights into large tropical tree mass and structure from direct harvest and terrestrial lidar
in Royal Society Open Science
Title | The Future starts here |
Description | V & A Museum exhibition, attended by over 110K paying members of public. Laser scans of Brazilian Amazon collected as part of this work were displayed on loop in the exhibition - showing how new technology is being used to re-imagine and envisage the environment |
Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
Year Produced | 2018 |
Impact | Press coverage, public interest in this work. |
URL | https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/the-future-starts-here |
Description | We have shown that our new approach to measuring forest biomass (weighing trees), particularly in the tropics, can provide much improved estimates of forest carbon stocks. We have also found that current estimates appear to be an underestimate of perhaps as much as 20%. This has potentially important implications for scientific understanding of tropical forest C budgets and climate, as well as for policies aimed at protecting these forests through investment in keeping C locked up and reducing deforestation. We have also shown via destructive harvesting, that tree mass in forests is distributed in a different way than previous assumptions. This is likely to have implications for our understanding of the way trees operate in forests under changing climate and disturbance. We have developed a new analysis of the uncertainties that underpin current allometric estimates, based on this work, which in turn will allow better estimates of tropical forest biomass. We have demonstrated the benefits of using new laser-based methods compared with current models, and shown where the weaknesses in those models lie. We have shown that there are major uncertainties in our current knowledge of the carbon stored in large trees and carbon-dense forests, and we have proposed ways to address these problems. We have provided new evidence that tree structure does not adhere to the assumptions made in current models, with significant implications for how we measure forest carbon in the future. We have developed theoretical and empirical evidence to provide guidance on how satellite data can be used more effectively to address these issues. |
Exploitation Route | These methods are underpinning new satellite estimates, and are likely to be taken up in policy recommendations as to how to measure and quantify forests. We are also providing tools and data to allow other people to use these methods. The data are also of wide interest in showing trees and forests in a way that is accessible to the public, as witnessed by the media interest in this work. |
Sectors | Creative Economy Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) Education Environment Culture Heritage Museums and Collections |
URL | http://disneytls.blogspot.co.uk/ |
Description | Measurements made as part of the project have featured widely in media (documentaries), exhibitions, and other outreach activities and press. Work is now cited by the IPCC Greenhouse Gas Reporting good practice guidelines, as best practice for national inventory reporting. Work cited in Committee on Earth Observation Sciende (CEOS) biomass calibration/validation protocol. The methods developed (in part) form the basis of the 'gold standard' tier 4 cal/val recommendations. |
First Year Of Impact | 2019 |
Sector | Creative Economy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Environment,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
Impact Types | Cultural Societal Policy & public services |
Description | Better measurement of forests for eg REDD+ reporting |
Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
URL | http://www.gofcgold.wur.nl/redd/ |
Description | Co-lead publication of CEOS Biomass cal/val protocol |
Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or Improved professional practice |
URL | https://lpvs.gsfc.nasa.gov/PDF/CEOS_WGCV_LPV_Biomass_Protocol_2021_V1.0.pdf |
Description | Impact on practice: inclusion of lidar data in public exhibition at V & A (The Future Starts Here), testimony from curator Dr. Rory Hyde |
Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Impact | Exhibition attended by over 100k people in London, and success of the exhibition led to uptake internationally (exhibition is now touring worldwide). As per Dr. Hyde's testimony, the inclusion of the lidar data led to a change in the way the curation was approached, from being mainly artefact-led, to including data as key part. Dr. Hyde's testimony can be provided as required. |
Description | Improved valuation of urban trees in urban environment planning and policy |
Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Impact | Influence on leading practitioners. Kireon Doick, Head of the Urban Forest Research Group, Forest Research said of this work "Urban trees are a very important resource for all those who live in, visit or work in towns and cities, for they provide us with a plethora of health and well-being benefits, and they keep these places cleaner and more attractive. Canopy cover values released last year show that for some areas the abundance of trees is also higher than in the countryside (averaging: 16% (towns) and 10% (pan-England in 2016)). This means we should expect our urban trees to also be providing us will an important carbon sink, helping to combat the global trend of increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This new work by UCL is a welcome development in advancing this understanding, and I look forward to hearing how the work continues to develop." Councillor Adam Harrison, Cabinet Member for Improving Camden's Environment said of the work: "Camden is really pleased to partner with UCL, based in the borough, in order to unlock the benefits of trees not just for our own residents but for people's benefit round the world." |
Description | Influence on IPCC Greenhouse Gas Reporting Good Practice Guidelines |
Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
URL | https://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp |
Description | Influence on urban forest planning and management leaders and professionals: Sir Harry Studholme, Chair of the Forestry Commission said of this work: "The trees in our cities are important. They matter because they are close to people and are a key component of our urban environment providing beauty, shade and homes for myriad species as well as absorbing carbon and pollutants. The work being carried out at UCL is adding colour and detail to this understanding" |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Implementation circular/rapid advice/letter to e.g. Ministry of Health |
Description | Providing input to Friends of the Earth campaign to double tree cover in the UK (see https://friendsoftheearth.uk/trees/dan-snow-investigates) |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
URL | https://friendsoftheearth.uk/trees/tree-just-tree-or-it |
Description | Discovery science |
Amount | £750,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | NE/P011780/1 |
Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2017 |
End | 09/2020 |
Description | ESA ForestScan: New technology for characterising forest structure and biomass at 'Super Sites' for EO cal/val across the tropics |
Amount | € 500,000 (EUR) |
Organisation | European Space Agency |
Sector | Public |
Country | France |
Start | 02/2021 |
End | 01/2023 |
Description | EU Horizon 20:20 |
Amount | € 1,900,000 (EUR) |
Funding ID | 757526 |
Organisation | European Commission |
Department | Horizon 2020 |
Sector | Public |
Country | European Union (EU) |
Start | 01/2018 |
End | 12/2021 |
Description | NASA ROSES CMS |
Amount | $200,000 (USD) |
Organisation | National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United States |
Start | 05/2016 |
End | 05/2019 |
Description | NCEO capital funding award |
Amount | £25,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | National Centre for Earth Observation |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 05/2017 |
End | 09/2017 |
Description | NCEO studentship |
Amount | £85,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | National Centre for Earth Observation |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 08/2015 |
End | 03/2019 |
Description | NERC capital equipment bid: ZEB |
Amount | £31,600 (GBP) |
Funding ID | c7 |
Organisation | National Centre for Earth Observation |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 02/2016 |
End | 04/2016 |
Description | TOMOSENSE: Forest measurements in support of ESA airborne cal/val for BIOMASS |
Amount | € 20,000 (EUR) |
Organisation | European Space Agency |
Sector | Public |
Country | France |
Start | 03/2021 |
End | 03/2022 |
Title | Lidar data processing tools |
Description | Tools for processing 3D terrestrial laser scanner data, to extract individual separate individual trees from larger point clouds covering forested areas. |
Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
Year Produced | 2015 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Provided ability to justify applciations for futher funding eg successful NERC Standard Grant application, CNRS collaboration in French Guiana, ESA funding to participate in ESA BIOMASS cal/val campaign, to collect laser scan data in Ghana and process into individual tree structure models. |
Title | New collection & dissemination of RT modelling tools and resources |
Description | Collection of radiative transfer modelling tools and resources for NCEO, and wider, research community |
Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
Year Produced | 2017 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Many requests for information on tools, and training possibilities, as well as new research collaborations. |
URL | https://www.nceo.ac.uk/data-tools/land-tools/ |
Title | Treeseg |
Description | New code to extract 3D trees from lidar point clouds collected in forest environments. |
Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
Year Produced | 2017 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Code and algorithms developed as part of Andy Burt's PhD and our ongoing lidar work. Many requests for the code, so we have now made it available with examples and tests. Being downloaded quite frequently, leading to more potential collaboration opportunities. |
URL | https://github.com/apburt/treeseg |
Title | 3D lidar tree point clouds and models |
Description | A collection of 3D trees as used in the p |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2018 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | None as yet. |
Description | CNRS |
Organisation | National Center for Scientific Research (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique CNRS) |
Country | France |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | To visit and deploy our terrestrial laser scanner at the CNRS field site at Nouragues, French Guiana, as part of CNRS-funded ongoing work. |
Collaborator Contribution | Provide funding for travel, subsistence, logistical help and accommodation, permits etc. |
Impact | 3D laser data for French Guiana plot, to be shared with partners and wider collaborators. Multi-disciplinary: remote sensing, engineering, ecology, forestry, climate. |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | Collaboration with EOLDAS |
Organisation | University College London |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We are providing new EO data products at high resolution over the UK, including agriculture and land use data. |
Collaborator Contribution | The European Space Agency EOLDAS (Earth Observation Land Data Assimilation System) team are providing expertise and tools to transform our satellite data into new, consistent EO products over the UK, which can be used by the GREENHOUSE modelling team. |
Impact | A new estimate of surface reflectance over the uk from multiple satellite sources. Conference papers reporting first results of this. |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Collaboration with Univ. of Edinburgh |
Organisation | University of Edinburgh |
Department | School of Geosciences Edinburgh |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | To scan forest plot in Brazil using NERC-funded terrestrial laser scanner, process data, and share results. |
Collaborator Contribution | Providing funds for travel and subsistence, logistic help and research collaboration. |
Impact | 3D visualisation of drought experiment; demonstration of lidar capability. Multi-disciplinary: remote sensing, ecology, forestry, climate. |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | ESA BIOMASS |
Organisation | European Space Agency |
Country | France |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | To visit calibration/validation sites for ESA BIOMASS mission. |
Collaborator Contribution | Provide funds for travel to, and scanning of ESA BIOMASS cal/val sites. |
Impact | Field visit to Ghana to scan AfriSCAT calibration site (TBC 2016). Multi-disciplinary: remote sensing, engineering, ecology, forestry, climate. |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | NASA GEDI |
Organisation | National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) |
Country | United States |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Calibration & validation work with the NASA GEDI team. |
Collaborator Contribution | Providing funding for fieldwork in US and Gabon. |
Impact | Generation of datasets and modelling tools for NASA GEDI team, and wider community of biomass research. Collaboration is multi-disciplinary as has science focus, but for policy delivery (via feeding into REDD+ MRV schemes). |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | Urban environments |
Organisation | Learning through Landscapes, Winchester |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | Bringing methods we have developed to measure trees to urban landscapes, to provide independent estimates of value of trees in urban landscapes, for organisations who work in the education and environment sector, particularly underserved communities. |
Collaborator Contribution | Access to contacts with schools and organisations involved in tree planting and urban green space more generally, as well as data on tree planting from community planting activities. |
Impact | Joint CASE phd proposed through the London NERC DTP with LTL; data sharing with TFC for evaluation of urban tree cover. |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | Urban environments |
Organisation | Trees For Cities |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | Bringing methods we have developed to measure trees to urban landscapes, to provide independent estimates of value of trees in urban landscapes, for organisations who work in the education and environment sector, particularly underserved communities. |
Collaborator Contribution | Access to contacts with schools and organisations involved in tree planting and urban green space more generally, as well as data on tree planting from community planting activities. |
Impact | Joint CASE phd proposed through the London NERC DTP with LTL; data sharing with TFC for evaluation of urban tree cover. |
Start Year | 2018 |
Title | TLS2Trees: a scalable tree segmentation pipeline for TLS data |
Description | Enables large-scale extraction of individual trees from larger point clouds collected using terrestrial laser scanner data. |
Type Of Technology | Software |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Open Source License? | Yes |
Impact | Already being used by a number of research groups. |
Title | Treeseg: Extracting individual trees from lidar point clouds using treeseg |
Description | treeseg has been developed to near-automatically segment individual tree point clouds from high-density larger-area lidar point clouds acquired in forests. A formal, albeit somewhat outdated description of the methods can be found in our paper. |
Type Of Technology | Software |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Open Source License? | Yes |
Impact | USe by many researchers and others including commercial. |
Title | Treeseg: extracting trees from lidar point clouds |
Description | Automated extraction of single trees from terrestrial lidar point clouds captured in forest environments |
Type Of Technology | Software |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Open Source License? | Yes |
Impact | Used and cited by multiple other researchers. |
URL | https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/2041-210X.13121 |
Description | Amazon FACE exhibition, Washington DC |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Supporters |
Results and Impact | Invited and funded to participate in an exhibition of our work done as part of the multi-million dollar Amazon FACE CO2 experiment in the Amazon rainforest, near Manaus in Brazil. The exhibition took place in the Inter American Development Bank HQ, Washington DC, June 2017. The exhibition was intended to showcase progress in the FACE project, and potentially secure further funding for continued research at the Amazon FACE experiment. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | http://amazonface.org/news/5935e65df655c4d0226c643c |
Description | BBC documentary: Judi Dench: My Passion for Trees |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Invited to participate in a flagship documentary exploring the trees in Dame Judi Dench's garden, as part of an exploration of her love of trees. Scanned an oak tree in her garden, and then presented the results to her during various interviews and pieces to camera. Featured in premiere screening at Kew introduced by the director of Kew Gardens, and then featured in many places in the national press. Broadcast at Xmas prime time (BBC1 20/12/2017) reaching an audience over 4 million people. Tree data featured in BBC Arts Facebook page, viewed by > 45k people as of Feb 2018: https://www.facebook.com/BBCArtsOnline/videos/2403675943190879/ |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | http://disneytls.blogspot.co.uk/2017/10/bbc-docs-featuring-our-work.html |
Description | BBC documentary: Life and Death on Your Lawn |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Use of the terrestrial laser scanning to illustrate the structure of trees and estimate the leaf area of trees in a suburban garden. Part of a 90 minute BBC 2 documentry, presented by Chris Packham, on the hidden biodiversity of suburban gardens. Seen by > 1m people and featured in the national press. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | http://disneytls.blogspot.co.uk/2017/10/bbc-docs-featuring-our-work.html |
Description | CEOS biomass protocol |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Invited to co-lead the CEOS Working Group on Calibration and Validation (WGCV) for above ground biomass. The CEOS WGCV groups develop consensus protocols on international standards for earth observation products. My work on lidar measurement of biomass, particularly in tropical forests, has led to this invitation. The role involves leading the development of a protocol to allow new satellite observations of biomass to be calibrated and validated in such a way that they are as widely-used as possible by researchers and policy-makers alike. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | https://lpvs.gsfc.nasa.gov/Biomass/AGB_home.html |
Description | Co-lead of CEOS Working Group on Calibration and Validation (WGCV) - Land Product Validation Subgroup for biomass |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The CEOS WGCV is responsible for promoting best use of EO data. The different land product validation subgroups are responsible for soliciting and collating best practice guidelines from within the community. I co-lead the CEOS biomass sub-group. During 2019-20 we have collated a best practice guideline document, released in March 2021, which will be the CEOS stated biomass guideline protocol for generating, reporting and using EO-derived aboveground biomass products. This protocol is intended to underpin reporting of national GHG inventory of biomass stocks derived from EO. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://lpvs.gsfc.nasa.gov/AGB/AGB_home.html |
Description | Forest activity at COP26 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Participated in a live event at COP26 in the green zone, MONITORING THE LUNGS OF THE WORLD FROM SPACE - WHAT SATELLITES REVEAL ABOUT CARBON STORAGE IN THE FORESTS OF THE EARTH. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://ukcop26.org/events/monitoring-the-lungs-of-the-world-from-space-what-satellites-reveal-about... |
Description | GEO BON Ecosystem Function Group |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Invited to sit on GEO BON Ecosystem Function Working Group. The aim of the Working groups (WGs) centred on Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) are expected to deliver on four fronts over the coming three years: (1) identify research opportunities (relevant to ecosystem functions) supporting the identification/implementation of EBVs; (2) derive/identify potential datasets; (3) articulate the links between these EBVs and global indicators; and (4) provide guidance to national biodiversity networks in terms of in situ monitoring of these EBVs (through, eg, the production of reports/guidelines). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017,2018 |
URL | http://geobon.org/working-groups/ecosystem-function/ |
Description | Interviews for national news (multiple) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | press release around paper on urban biomass, picked up by multiple print and online media sources, live interviews (BBC TV, radio, Sky News). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Invited member of GEO-TREES advisory |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | GEO-TREES activity arises out of CEOS LPV efforts on biomass and is intended to make case & provide mechanism for funding biomass reference measurement (BRM) sites for cal/val of new and upcoming space observations of forest carbon. Aimed at agencies, commercial, philanthropy and government. I am on the science advisory committee. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://geo-trees.org |
Description | Laser scanning blog |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Providing background and examples of my work in laser scanning for a wider audience. Has led to many media requests, school talk requests, participation in workshops etc. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014,2015,2016 |
URL | http://disneytls.blogspot.co.uk/ |
Description | National news interviews around UK forest biomass study at Wytham |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Based on our December 2022 paper on an underestimate of carbon in UK woodlands, on 20/12/2022 I conducted 4 national radio and 2 national TV interviews, featured on R4 Today, R5 Live, BBC News on both the 1 and 6pm TV bulletins, and then various written and other press interviews. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-64028694 |
Description | Participation in BBC Countryfile episode on their Plant Britain campaign |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Interviewed as part of BBC Countryfile episode launching their Plant Britain campaign, discussing how to measure the carbon stocks of UK woodlands, and how to think about this in the perspective of maintaining existing trees and woodlands, and planting new. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000pzlx |
Description | Press activities around new papers on Weighing Trees with Lasers |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Press release around release of new papers on laser measurements of forests, featuring in a series of papers in the Royal Society Interface journal, coming out of our themed meeting in February 2017. My work featured on the cover of the journal and an accompanying press release by UCL was picked up widely by the print and broadcast media, including: BBC and Sky radio, Sky News, Independent, Mail Online, BT news etc., leading to various radio and print interviews. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | http://disneytls.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/royal-society-super-special-issue-on-tls.html |
Description | Press coverage of paper on redwood biomass and carbon |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | The work was covered in multiple news outlets including the Times and Scientific American (Jan 2021). I was interviewed on multiple online science outlets and the work was also featured in an online comic. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020,2021 |
URL | http://disneytls.blogspot.com/2021/02/hot-off-presses-or-whatever-online.html |
Description | Royal Society Summer Exhibition: Our Breathing Earth |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Co-lead of invited Royal Society Summer Exhibition event, held online due to pandemic, displaying work on biomass and carbon cycle. Included developing the online materials (See below) as well as running a live on-line workshop hosted by the Royal Society "The Carbon in your garden", which was sold out (max capacity of 100). See https://royalsociety.org/science-events-and-lectures/2021/07/stories-from-frontier-of-earth/ and |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://ourbreathingearth.org/#/ |
Description | Royal Society Workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | A Royal Society-funded workshop on 'The terrestrial laser scanning revolution in forest ecology'. Co-organised the meeting, secured funding from the Royal Society, and then acted as joint associate editor for the resulting special issue of the Royal Society journal. Aimed to showcase widely the new opportunities for TLS measurements in ecology. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | https://royalsociety.org/science-events-and-lectures/2017/02/forest-ecology/ |
Description | Schools visits |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Multiple schools visits including: Jubilee Primary School, Hackney; City and Islington Academy, Islington (GCSE and A-level); Bedford School, Bedford (across lower school and 6th form). In all cases I was invited to talk about my work in tropical forests primarily, to show the audience what tropical forests look like, how we measure them and why these measurements are important - in some cases to address specific curricular aspects such as climate, carbon cycle, photosynthesis, forests etc. In each case I have been invited back again. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015,2016 |
Description | The Conversation piece on paper on Urban Forests |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | An invited piece based on the press release on our work on urban forests. 80K reads so far since publication. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | http://theconversation.com/urban-forests-can-store-almost-as-much-carbon-as-tropical-rainforests-988... |
Description | Victoria and Albert Museum |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Our lidar data from a tropical forest in Brazil is featuring as part of a major new exhibition at the V&A, The Future Starts Here, as well as in the book accompanying the exhibition. The exhibition "will bring together more than 100 objects as a landscape of possibilities for the near future." - as part of this, scientific measurements which are allowing us to see the world in new ways are explored. Our data are used to show the possibilities for measuring forests, understanding tropical climates, and showing audiences what being in such a forest is like. The hope is it will help to raise awareness of the structural complexity and beauty of these environments, potentially allowing us to see their 'value' in new ways. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/the-future-starts-here#intro |
Description | Victoria and Albert Museum exibition |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | My work features in an ongoing major V & A exhibition: The Future Starts Here. This includes a video installation showing lidar data collected in tropical rainforests and shown with a caption. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |