Sensors 2011, 11(2), 1657-1681; doi:10.3390/s110201657
Article

The Properties of Terrestrial Laser System Intensity for Measuring Leaf Geometries: A Case Study with Conference Pear Trees (Pyrus Communis)

Mathilde A.F. Balduzzi 1,* email, Dimitry Van der Zande 1,2 , Jan Stuckens 1 , Willem W. Verstraeten 3,4  and Pol Coppin 1
1 Biosystem Department, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, M3-BIORES Willem de Croylaan 34, BE-3001 Leuven, Belgium 2 Department VI of the Royal, Management Unit of the North Sea Mathematical Model (MUMM), Belgium Institute of Natural Science, Rue Vautier, 1000 Brussel, Belgium 3 Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, Climate Observations, PO Box 201, NL-3730 AE, De Bilt, The Netherlands 4 Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, PO Box 513, 5600 MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 29 December 2010; in revised form: 14 January 2011 / Accepted: 25 January 2011 / Published: 28 January 2011
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 10 Years Sensors - A Decade of Publishing)
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Abstract: Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology can be a valuable tool for describing and quantifying vegetation structure. However, because of their size, extraction of leaf geometries remains complicated. In this study, the intensity data produced by the Terrestrial Laser System (TLS) FARO LS880 is corrected for the distance effect and its relationship with the angle of incidence between the laser beam and the surface of the leaf of a Conference Pear tree (Pyrus Commmunis) is established. The results demonstrate that with only intensity, this relationship has a potential for determining the angle of incidence with the leaves surface with a precision of ±5° for an angle of incidence smaller than 60°, whereas it is more variable for an angle of incidence larger than 60°. It appears that TLS beam footprint, leaf curvatures and leaf wrinkles have an impact on the relationship between intensity and angle of incidence, though, this analysis shows that the intensity of scanned leaves has a potential to eliminate ghost points and to improve their meshing.
Keywords: leaf inclination; leaf geometries; intensity return; TLS; Ghost point; mesh; conference pear tree

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MDPI and ACS Style

Balduzzi, M.A.; Van der Zande, D.; Stuckens, J.; Verstraeten, W.W.; Coppin, P. The Properties of Terrestrial Laser System Intensity for Measuring Leaf Geometries: A Case Study with Conference Pear Trees (Pyrus Communis). Sensors 2011, 11, 1657-1681.

AMA Style

Balduzzi MA, Van der Zande D, Stuckens J, Verstraeten WW, Coppin P. The Properties of Terrestrial Laser System Intensity for Measuring Leaf Geometries: A Case Study with Conference Pear Trees (Pyrus Communis). Sensors. 2011; 11(2):1657-1681.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Balduzzi, Mathilde A.F.; Van der Zande, Dimitry; Stuckens, Jan; Verstraeten, Willem W.; Coppin, Pol. 2011. "The Properties of Terrestrial Laser System Intensity for Measuring Leaf Geometries: A Case Study with Conference Pear Trees (Pyrus Communis)." Sensors 11, no. 2: 1657-1681.

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