Factors influencing ground point density from Airborne Laser Scanning - a case study with ISOK Project data

Mateusz Maślanka
Jagiellonian University in Cracow
Institute of Geography and Spatial Management
Department of Geographical Information Systems, Cartography and Remote Sensing
Poland

Abstract

Areas covered with vegetation are characterized by a lower density of ground points. This issue has a negative impact on the accuracy of terrain representation and terrain details that could be detected. Country-wide ALS data was delivered in Poland within the ISOK Project (the IT System of the Country's Protection against Extreme Hazards) between 2011 and 2015. Considering the increasing use of this data in the process of generation of Digital Terrain Models (DTM), factors affecting the density of ground points in areas covered with vegetation should be carefully assessed. During the first step various raster models were generated: the point cloud density, the percentage of ground points, the point source number, the slope, the scan angle, the canopy cover, the DTM and the normalized Digital Surface Model (nDSM). In the next step statistical analysis of relations between variables, basing on values from generated models and vector objects, was performed. The results showed that the density of ground points is mainly determined by the canopy cover, the forest height and the scan angle; however it is also influenced by the slope and the point source number.

Keywords:

ISOK; normalized Digital Surface Model; Digital Terrain Model; Digital Surface Model; canopy cover

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