Tuomas Yrttimaa, Lauri Liikonen, Aapo Erkkilä, Mikko Vastaranta. (2025). Terrestrial laser scanning point clouds and tree attributes from 55 sample plots at the Evo test site (spring 2024). Silva Fennica vol. 59 no. 1 article id 24066. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.24066

Keywords: boreal forest; ground-based LiDAR; LIS TreeAnalyzer; point cloud processing; Riegl VZ-400i; tree characterization; tree reconstruction

Highlights: Terrestrial laser scanning dataset from 55 sample plots (32 × 32 m) representing boreal forests of Southern Finland; Data was acquired in April–May 2024 using a Riegl VZ-400i scanner, providing multiple returns per pulse; Each point is annotated with reflectance, return properties, and tree linkage; Crown and stem diameters were derived for further analysis, advancing tree and forest research applications.

Abstract | Full text in HTML | Full text in PDF | Author Info

Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) is an active remote sensing technique that digitizes trees and forest stands by capturing range measurements, resulting in detailed point clouds. To support the development of computational methods for tree and forest stand characterization, as well as to facilitate the exploration of tree structures, we collected TLS data from 55 sample plots (32 m × 32 m) and 6320 trees in Evo, Southern Finland. Data acquisition was conducted during April–May 2024 using a Riegl VZ-400i terrestrial laser scanner (Riegl Laser Measurement Systems GmbH, Austria), capable of recording up to eight returns per laser pulse. This dataset includes TLS point clouds in the projected coordinate reference system commonly used in Finland (ETRS-TM35FIN). Each point is annotated with reflectance, return number, return count, and height above ground. Additionally, information linking each return to its originating tree is provided. For individual trees, the point clouds were further processed to derive key attributes such as crown projection area, crown diameter, and stem diameter. In addition, tree species was derived by linking the TLS-based tree measurements with field inventory data. Here, we describe and share these curated TLS data files and related tree measurements, which offer a valuable resource for advancing tree- and forest-related research and applications.

Yrttimaa, School of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2648-523X E-mail: tuomas.yrttimaa@uef.fi
Liikonen, School of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: lauriliik@uef.fi
Erkkilä, School of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: aapo.erkkila@uef.fi
Vastaranta, School of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6552-9122 E-mail: mikko.vastaranta@uef.fi

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