{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,12]],"date-time":"2025-10-12T03:34:26Z","timestamp":1760240066385,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2019,3,19]],"date-time":"2019-03-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1552953600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100002714","name":"Albert-Ludwigs-Universit\u00e4t Freiburg","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["We have received confirmation email"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["We have received confirmation email"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100002714","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Digital stereo aerial photographs are periodically updated in many countries and offer a viable option for the regular update of information on forest variables. We compared the potential of image-based point clouds derived from three different sets of aerial photographs with airborne laser scanning (ALS) to assess plot-level forest attributes in a mountain environment. The three data types used were (A) high overlapping pan-sharpened (80\/60%); (B) high overlapping panchromatic band (80\/60%); and (C) standard overlapping pan-sharpened stereo aerial photographs (60\/30%). We used height and density metrics at the plot level derived from image-based and ALS point clouds as the explanatory variables and Lorey\u2019s mean height, timber volume, and mean basal area as the response variables. We obtained a RMSE = 8.83%, 29.24% and 35.12% for Lorey\u2019s mean height, volume, and basal area using ALS data, respectively. Similarly, we obtained a RMSE = 9.96%, 31.13%, and 35.99% and RMSE = 11.28%, 31.01%, and 35.66% for Lorey\u2019s mean height, volume and basal area using image-based point clouds derived from pan-sharpened stereo aerial photographs with 80\/60% and 60\/30% overlapping, respectively. For image-based point clouds derived from a panchromatic band of stereo aerial photographs (80%\/60%), we obtained an RMSE = 10.04%, 31.19% and 35.86% for Lorey\u2019s mean height, volume, and basal area, respectively. The overall findings indicated that the performance of image-based point clouds in all cases were as good as ALS. This highlights that in the presence of a highly accurate digital terrain model (DTM) from ALS, image-based point clouds offer a viable option for operational forest management in all countries where stereo aerial photographs are updated on a routine basis.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/rs11060661","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2019,3,19]],"date-time":"2019-03-19T12:12:25Z","timestamp":1552997545000},"page":"661","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":11,"title":["Potential of Modern Photogrammetry Versus Airborne Laser Scanning for Estimating Forest Variables in a Mountain Environment"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6997-137X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sami","family":"Ullah","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Chair of Remote Sensing and Landscape Information System, Institute of Forest Sciences, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany"},{"name":"Department of Forestry, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University, 18050 Sheringal, Dir Upper, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan"}]},{"given":"Matthias","family":"Dees","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Chair of Remote Sensing and Landscape Information System, Institute of Forest Sciences, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany"},{"name":"UNIQUE forestry and land use GmbH, 79098 Freiburg, Germany"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1721-2371","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pawan","family":"Datta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Chair of Remote Sensing and Landscape Information System, Institute of Forest Sciences, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany"}]},{"given":"Petra","family":"Adler","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Forest Research Institute, Baden-Wurttemberg (FVA), 79100 Freiburg, Germany"}]},{"given":"Mathias","family":"Schardt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Remote Sensing and Geoinformation, JOANNEUM RESEARCH, 8010 Graz, Austria"}]},{"given":"Barbara","family":"Koch","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Chair of Remote Sensing and Landscape Information System, Institute of Forest Sciences, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,3,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Dees, M. 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