An investigation of the potential of digital photogrammetry to provide measurements of forest characteristics and abiotic damage

This paper describes the use of digital photogrammetric techniques in the p rovision of spatial data on forest canopies. Such data have application in the monitoring of onset and progression of abiotic damage such as windthrow , and as input to predictive models of wind damage. The derivation of digit al elevation models and orthophotographs at multiple dates in the lifetime of a forest was tested for a 7 km(2) study site. The spatial variation in t he surface roughness of the forest, incorporating canopy and micro-topograp hy effects was derived and measured. A three-dimensional model of the canop y was obtained from multi-date digital elevation data and the results indic ate that accurate estimates of canopy height are possible at a fine spatial resolution. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.