Estimation of height and aerial biomass in Eucalyptus globulus plantations using UAV-LiDAR

The lack of precise methods for estimating forest biomass results in both economic losses and incorrect decisions in the management of forest plantations. In response to this issue, this study evaluated the effectiveness of using the DJI Zenmuse L1 LiDAR, mounted on a DJI Matrice 300 RTK UAV, to provide three-dimensional measurements of canopy structure and estimate the aboveground biomass of Eucalyptus globulus. Various LiDAR metrics were employed alongside field measurements to calibrate predictive models using multiple regression and machine learning algorithms. The results at the individual tree level show that RF is the most accurate model, with a coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.76 in the training set and 0.66 in the test set, outperforming Elastic Net (R² of 0.58 and 0.57, respectively). At the plot level, a multiple regression model achieved an R² of 0.647, highlighting LiDAR-derived metrics as key predictors. The findings revealed that the combination of LiDAR with advanced statistical techniques, such as multiple regression and Random Forest, significantly improves the accuracy of biomass estimation, surpassing traditional methods based on allometric equations. Therefore, the use of LiDAR in conjunction with machine learning represents an effective alternative for biomasss estimation, with great potential in such plantations and contribute to more sustainable exploitation of timber resources.