Lasers, Flowers, Bees: Modeling the Number of Flowers and Bee Forage on Cherry Trees Using <scp>3D</scp> Point Clouds

Currently, there is little quantitative data available on the number of flowers per tree, especially in relation to tree size. In our study, we modeled the number of flowers of wild cherry trees (Prunus avium L.) using a novel approach that combines manually collected count data with 3D information on tree structures. Using this data, we were able to estimate the amount of nectar and pollen, as well as the number of potentially supported bee larvae. We found that trees with larger diameters carry a disproportionately higher number of flowers compared to smaller trees.