ACCURACY AND PRECISION OF 2 LASER DENDROMETERS

Two commercial laser dendrometers were tested under controlled and fie ld conditions, and contrasted with alternative instruments. Testing fo cused on height measurement, but also considered distance and remote d iameter measurements. Both laser instruments gave very precise estimat es, but showed some bias. Users of these and other 'high-tech' instrum ents are reminded that precision is not synonymous with accuracy. User s should not become complacent about the submillimetre readout, but sh ould calibrate instruments to examine if users' accuracy requirements are satisfied. Instruments may need to be re-calibrated each measureme nt season and after any mishandling.