Assessing the utility of handheld LiDar to quantify forest understory structure and evaluate change following disturbance

This project will quantify forest structure changes in post-fire (Sonoma County) and managed stands (Mendocino County) via LiDAR voxel metrics. Data will be collected using a LiDAR handheld mobile laser scanner, and validated using limited destructive sampling. This study will add to the relatively new and growing body of work on LiDAR remote sensing to measure forest structure as a component of forest health.