Modeling Merchantable Wood Volume Using Airborne LiDAR Metrics and Historical Forest Inventory Plots at a Provincial Scale

So far, large-scale projects aiming to map forest attributes using aerial LiDAR data have been developed using ground sample plots acquired synchronously with LiDAR. No large projects have been developed using aerial LiDAR acquired independent of ground sample plot datasets. The goal of this study was to develop and validate large-scale parametric merchantable wood volume estimation models using existing historical ground sample plots. The models can be applied to large LiDAR datasets to map merchantable wood volume as a 10 × 10 m raster. The study demonstrated that a relative density index (RDI) based on a self-thinning equation and dominant height were suitable variables that can be calculated both for ground sample plots and LiDAR datasets. The resulting volume raster showed sound accuracy rates when compared to validation zones: R², 82.25%; RMSE, 13.7 m3/ha; and bias, −4.09 m3/ha. The results show that ground sample plot datasets acquired synchronously with LiDAR can be used to calculate the RDI and dominant height. These variables can consequently be used to map forest attributes over a large area with a high level of accuracy, thus not requiring the implementation of new costly sample plots.