This project developed a new approach for measuring biomass/carbon stocks in savanna vegetation, offering insight into the factors causing the poor dense image matching by high-resolution stereo satellites. Utilising a two-phase Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) analysis procedure integrating both individual tree detection and area-based approaches, this research offers a better understanding of how the uncertainty of biomass estimation varies with scale.

Although airborne LiDAR provided higher tree detection rates and accurate estimates of tree above ground biomass, this study found that a 3D point cloud obtained from light weight optical unmanned aerial systems imagery is an adequate low-cost alternative for the detection of dominant and co-dominant tree stands, at least at a local scale in Australian tropical savanna. The methodologies developed can be applied to large areas of savanna country across northern Australia.

This project was completed in May 2019.