ForestScan: a unique multiscale dataset of tropical forest structure across 3 continents including terrestrial, UAV and airborne LiDAR and in-situ forest census data - 2026
ForestScan: a unique multiscale dataset of tropical forest structure across 3 continents including terrestrial, UAV and airborne LiDAR and in-situ forest census data
[en] The ForestScan project was conceived to evaluate new technologies for characterising forest structure and biomass at Forest Biomass Reference Measurement Sites (FBRMS). It is closely aligned with other international initiatives, particularly the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) Working Group on Calibration and Validation (WGCV) aboveground biomass (AGB) cal/val protocols, and is part of GEO-TREES, an international consortium dedicated to establishing a global network of Forest Biomass Reference Measurement Sites (FBRMS) to support EO and encourage investment in relevant field-based observations and science. ForestScan is the first demonstration of what can be achieved more broadly under GEO-TREES, which would significantly expand and enhance the use of EO-derived AGB estimates. We present data from the ForestScan project, a unique multiscale dataset of tropical forest three-dimensional (3D) structural measurements, including terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), unpiloted aerial vehicle laser scanning (UAV-LS), airborne laser scanning (ALS), and in-situ tree census and ancillary data. These data are critical for the calibration and validation of EO estimates of forest biomass, as well as providing broader insights into tropical forest structure. Data are presented for three FBRMS: FBRMS-01: Paracou, French Guiana; FBRMS-02: Lopé, Gabon; and FBRMS-03: Kabili-Sepilok, Malaysia. Field data for each site include new 3D LiDAR measurements combined with plot tree census and ancillary data, at a multi-hectare scale. Not all data types were collected at all sites, reflecting the practical challenges of field data collection. We also provide detailed data collection protocols and recommendations for TLS, UAV-LS, ALS and plot census measurements for each site, along with requirements for ancillary data to enable integration with ALS data (where possible) and upscaling to EO estimates. We outline the requirements and challenges for field data collection for each data type and discuss the practical considerations for establishing new FBRMS or upgrading existing sites to FBRMS standard, including insights into the associated costs and benefits. All datasets described in this study are openly available. The TLS, UAV-LS and ALS datasets are provided through the ForestScan Project Data Collection in the CEDA archive (https://doi.org/10.5285/88a8620229014e0ebacf0606b302112d, Chavana-Bryant et al., 2025l). Tree census and plot description data for FBRMS-01 (Paracou, French Guiana) are hosted in the CIRAD Dataverse (https://doi.org/10.18167/DVN1/94XHID, Derroire et al., 2025b). Tree census and ancillary data for FBRMS-02 (Lopé, Gabon) and FBRMS-03 (Kabili-Sepilok, Malaysia) are available via a ForestPlots.net data package (https://doi.org/10.5521/forestplots.net/2025_2, Chavana-Bryant et al., 2025k). Together, these repositories provide access to the complete set of datasets released as part of the ForestScan project.
Disciplines :
Environmental sciences & ecology
Author, co-author :
Chavana-Bryant, Cecilia ; Department of Geography, University College London, London, United Kingdom ; NERC National Centre for Earth Observation, UCL Geography, London, United Kingdom
Wilkes, Phil; Department of Geography, University College London, London, United Kingdom ; NERC National Centre for Earth Observation, UCL Geography, London, United Kingdom ; Kew Wakehurst, United Kingdom
Yang, Wanxin ; Department of Geography, University College London, London, United Kingdom ; NERC National Centre for Earth Observation, UCL Geography, London, United Kingdom
Burt, Andrew; Sylvera Ltd., London, United Kingdom
Vines, Peter; Plymouth, United Kingdom
Bennett, Amy C.; School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
Pickavance, Georgia C.; School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
Cooper, Declan L.M.; Department of Geography, University College London, London, United Kingdom ; Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, United Kingdom
Lewis, Simon L. ; Department of Geography, University College London, London, United Kingdom ; School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
Phillips, Oliver L.; School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
Brede, Benjamin ; GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, Section 1.4 Remote Sensing and Geoinformatics, Potsdam, Germany
Lau, Alvaro ; Laboratory of Geo-Information Science and Remote Sensing, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
Herold, Martin; GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, Section 1.4 Remote Sensing and Geoinformatics, Potsdam, Germany
McNicol, Iain M.; School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Mitchard, Edward T.A. ; School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom ; Space Intelligence Ltd, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Coomes, David A. ; Plant Science, Cambridge Conservation Initiative, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Jackson, Toby D.; Plant Science, Cambridge Conservation Initiative, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Makaga, Löic; Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux (ANPN), Libreville, Gabon
Milamizokou Napo, Heddy O.; Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux (ANPN), Libreville, Gabon
Ngomanda, Alfred; Institut de Recherche en Ecologie Tropicale, CENAREST, Libreville, Gabon
Ntie, Stephan; Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux (ANPN), Libreville, Gabon
Medjibe, Vincent; Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux (ANPN), Libreville, Gabon
Dimbonda, Pacôme; Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux (ANPN), Libreville, Gabon
Soenens, Luna; Q-ForestLab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Daelemans, Virginie ; Université de Liège - ULiège ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech > Master bioing. : gest. forêts & esp. nat., à fin. spéc.
Proux, Laetitia; CIRAD, UMR EcoFoG, CNRS, INRAE, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane, AgroParistech, Kourou, French Guiana
Nilus, Reuben; Forest Research Centre, Sabah Forestry Department, Malaysia
Labrière, Nicolas; Centre de Recherche sur la Biodiversité et l'Environnement (CRBE), UMR 5300 CNRS-IRD-INP-UT3, Toulouse, France
Jeffery, Kathryn ; Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, United Kingdom ; ESA Centre for Earth Observation, Frascati, Italy
Burslem, David F. R.P.; School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
Clewley, Dan; Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth, United Kingdom
Moffat, David ; Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth, United Kingdom
Qie, Lan; College of Health and Science, Department of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, United Kingdom
Bartholomeus, Harm; Laboratory of Geo-Information Science and Remote Sensing, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
Barbier, Nicolas ; AMAP, CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE, Univ. Montpellier, IRD, Montpellier, France
Derroire, Geraldine ; CIRAD, UMR EcoFoG, CNRS, INRAE, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane, AgroParistech, Kourou, French Guiana
Abernethy, Katharine; Institut de Recherche en Ecologie Tropicale, CENAREST, Libreville, Gabon ; Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, United Kingdom
Scipal, Klaus; ESA Centre for Earth Observation, Frascati, Italy
Disney, Mathias ; Department of Geography, University College London, London, United Kingdom ; NERC National Centre for Earth Observation, UCL Geography, London, United Kingdom
ForestScan: a unique multiscale dataset of tropical forest structure across 3 continents including terrestrial, UAV and airborne LiDAR and in-situ forest census data
NERC - Natural Environment Research Council ESA - European Space Agency UCL - University College London NCEO - National Centre for Earth Observation ANR - Agence Nationale de la Recherche
Funding text :
Specific data collection activities were funded by the European Space Agency under ESA/ contract No. 4000126857/20/NL/AI. M.D., P.W., C.Ch-B., W.Y. acknowledge Capital Infrastructure Funding (CIF) for TLS equipment from UCL Geography and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEOT.J. and D.C. acknowledge the funding for ALS data collection over FBRMS-01: Paracou, French Guiana in 2019 and FBRMS-03: Kabili-Sepilok, Malaysian Borneo during February 2020 as part of a NERC project grant (NE/S010750/1).). I.M.M. was partly funded by a European Research Council Starting Grant (757526) awarded to E.T.A.M. Work in Lop\u00E9 was supported by core funding from Total Gabon and the 40 EU-ACP ECOFAC VI grant to the Gabon National Parks Agency for logistics, staff and site operations. Work in French Guiana benefited from the 30 Investissement d\u2019Avenir grants of the ANR, France (CEBA: ANR-10-LABX-0025).
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