A method to obtain orange crop geometry information using a mobile terrestrial laser scanner and 3D modeling

LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology has been used to obtain geometrical attributes of tree crops in small field plots, sometimes using manual steps in data processing. The objective of this study was to develop a method for estimating canopy volume and height based on a mobile terrestrial...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Colaço, André F., Trevisan, Rodrigo G., Molin, José P., Rosell Polo, Joan Ramon, Escolà i Agustí, Alexandre
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2017
Country:España
Institution:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repository:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:10459.1/60310
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3390/rs9080763
http://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/60310
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:LiDAR
TLS
Canopy volume
3D surface reconstruction
Description
Summary:LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology has been used to obtain geometrical attributes of tree crops in small field plots, sometimes using manual steps in data processing. The objective of this study was to develop a method for estimating canopy volume and height based on a mobile terrestrial laser scanner suited for large commercial orange groves. A 2D LiDAR sensor and a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver were mounted on a vehicle for data acquisition. A georeferenced point cloud representing the laser beam impacts on the crop was created and later classified into transversal sections along the row or into individual trees. The convex-hull and the alpha-shape reconstruction algorithms were used to reproduce the shape of the tree crowns. Maps of canopy volume and height were generated for a 25 ha orange grove. The different options of data processing resulted in different values of canopy volume. The alpha-shape algorithm was considered a good option to represent individual trees whereas the convex-hull was better when representing transversal sections of the row. Nevertheless, the canopy volume and height maps produced by those two methods were similar. The proposed system is useful for site-specific management in orange groves.