Ontario Forest Resource Inventory Enhancement using ADS40 Aerial Imagery and LiDar data

Ontario is investing $100 Million over 10 years in the process of updating the Provincial Forest Resource Inventory (FRI), which involves the province-wide acquisition of new digital ADS40 aerial imagery to serve as a consistent platform for the photo-interpretation and mapping of forest attributes. Because it is coupled with advanced geographic positioning data, ADS40 imagery may provide a cost effective means to simultaneously generate digital elevation models and quantify stand-level structural features in addition to traditional FRI attributes; and some of these processes may be automated. However, these additional capacities remain largely untested in Ontario, an essential precursor to using ADS40 technology to improve upon Ontario's traditional FRI. Using a combination of ADS40 imagery, manual photo-interpretation techniques, and airborne laser scanner (ALS) light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data that provide precise coordinate data for both terrain surfaces and objects above the ground, this project aims to explore multiple avenues to enhance the information content, and value of, Ontario's FRI.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Jay Malcolm

Student:

Ben Kuttner

Partner:

KBM Forestry Consultants Inc.

Discipline:

Forestry

Sector:

Forestry

University:

University of Toronto