{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,15]],"date-time":"2026-06-15T23:33:15Z","timestamp":1781566395904,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":56,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2017,1,19]],"date-time":"2017-01-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1484784000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"China Agriculture Research System","award":["CARS-35"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CARS-35"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["41501416"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["41501416"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["41471093"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["41471093"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"National Key Technology R&amp;D Program","award":["2013BAC03B02"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2013BAC03B02"]}]},{"name":"National Key Technology R&amp;D Program","award":["2013BAC03B04"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2013BAC03B04"]}]},{"name":"Open Foundation of Key Laboratory of Precise Engineering and Industry Surveying of the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping, and Geoinformation","award":["PF2015-17"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PF2015-17"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Accurate canopy structure datasets, including canopy height and fractional cover, are required to monitor aboveground biomass as well as to provide validation data for satellite remote sensing products. In this study, the ability of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) discrete light detection and ranging (lidar) was investigated for modeling both the canopy height and fractional cover in Hulunber grassland ecosystem. The extracted mean canopy height, maximum canopy height, and fractional cover were used to estimate the aboveground biomass. The influences of flight height on lidar estimates were also analyzed. The main findings are: (1) the lidar-derived mean canopy height is the most reasonable predictor of aboveground biomass (R2 = 0.340, root-mean-square error (RMSE) = 81.89 g\u00b7m\u22122, and relative error of 14.1%). The improvement of multiple regressions to the R2 and RMSE values is unobvious when adding fractional cover in the regression since the correlation between mean canopy height and fractional cover is high; (2) Flight height has a pronounced effect on the derived fractional cover and details of the lidar data, but the effect is insignificant on the derived canopy height when the flight height is within the range (&lt;100 m). These findings are helpful for modeling stable regressions to estimate grassland biomass using lidar returns.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s17010180","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2017,1,19]],"date-time":"2017-01-19T10:55:40Z","timestamp":1484823340000},"page":"180","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":72,"title":["Modeling Aboveground Biomass in Hulunber Grassland Ecosystem by Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Discrete Lidar"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Dongliang","family":"Wang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"National Hulunber Grassland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100101, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiaoping","family":"Xin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Hulunber Grassland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Quanqin","family":"Shao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100101, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3576-9675","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Matthew","family":"Brolly","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Environment and Technology, University of Brighton, Brighton BN2 4GJ, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhiliang","family":"Zhu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA 20192, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jin","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2017,1,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"033542","DOI":"10.1117\/1.3216822","article-title":"Unmanned aerial vehicle-based remote sensing for rangeland assessment, monitoring, and management","volume":"3","author":"Rango","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Appl. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1496","DOI":"10.3390\/rs6021496","article-title":"Remote sensing-based biomass estimation and its spatio-temporal variations in temperate grassland, Northern China","volume":"6","author":"Jin","year":"2014","journal-title":"Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2846","DOI":"10.1038\/srep02846","article-title":"How ecological restoration alters ecosystem services: An analysis of carbon sequestration in China\u2019s loess plateau","volume":"3","author":"Feng","year":"2013","journal-title":"Sci. Rep."},{"key":"ref_4","unstructured":"Brown, L. (1989). The Audubon Society Nature Guides, Alfred A Knopf, Inc."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"264","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2014.09.035","article-title":"Evaluation of field-measured vertical obscuration and full waveform lidar to assess salt marsh vegetation biophysical parameters","volume":"156","author":"Rogers","year":"2015","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"279","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ecolind.2015.11.005","article-title":"Modeling grassland aboveground biomass using a pure vegetation index","volume":"62","author":"Li","year":"2016","journal-title":"Ecol. Indic."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1029\/2007JF000758","article-title":"A new model of wind erosion in the presence of vegetation","volume":"113","author":"Okin","year":"2008","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res. Atmos."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"375","DOI":"10.1007\/s10584-007-9316-6","article-title":"Carbon storage in the grasslands of China based on field measurements of above- and below-ground biomass","volume":"86","author":"Fan","year":"2008","journal-title":"Clim. Chang."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"217","DOI":"10.1023\/B:VEGE.0000049097.85960.10","article-title":"Estimating net primary productivity of grasslands from field biomass measurements in temperate Northern China","volume":"174","author":"Ni","year":"2004","journal-title":"Plant Ecol."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2384","DOI":"10.3390\/s130202384","article-title":"Rapid characterization of vegetation structure with a microsoft kinect sensor","volume":"13","author":"Azzari","year":"2013","journal-title":"Sensors"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"20304","DOI":"10.3390\/s141120304","article-title":"Terrestrial laser scanning for vegetation sampling","volume":"14","author":"Richardson","year":"2014","journal-title":"Sensors"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1088","DOI":"10.3390\/s150101088","article-title":"Whiteref: A new tower-based hyperspectral system for continuous reflectance measurements","volume":"15","author":"Sakowska","year":"2015","journal-title":"Sensors"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"184","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2016.02.019","article-title":"Fractional vegetation cover estimation algorithm for Chinese GF-1 wide field view data","volume":"177","author":"Jia","year":"2016","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1031","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ecolind.2015.09.001","article-title":"Estimation and uncertainty analyses of grassland biomass in Northern China: Comparison of multiple remote sensing data sources and modeling approaches","volume":"60","author":"Jia","year":"2016","journal-title":"Ecol. Indic."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3070","DOI":"10.3390\/s150203070","article-title":"Some insights on grassland health assessment based on remote sensing","volume":"15","author":"Xu","year":"2015","journal-title":"Sensors"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1029\/2005GB002634","article-title":"Changes in biomass carbon stocks in China\u2019s grasslands between 1982 and 1999","volume":"21","author":"Piao","year":"2007","journal-title":"Glob. Biogeochem. Cycles"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"15","DOI":"10.1016\/S0034-4257(98)00063-7","article-title":"Relating radar backscatter to biophysical properties of temperate perennial grassland","volume":"67","author":"Hill","year":"1999","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"10027","DOI":"10.3390\/s130810027","article-title":"Spectroscopic determination of aboveground biomass in grasslands using spectral transformations, support vector machine and partial least squares regression","volume":"13","author":"Marabel","year":"2013","journal-title":"Sensors"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"17666","DOI":"10.3390\/s150717666","article-title":"Multiscale trend analysis for pampa grasslands using ground data and vegetation sensor imagery","volume":"15","author":"Scotta","year":"2015","journal-title":"Sensors"},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"226","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jenvman.2014.05.028","article-title":"Modeling vegetation heights from high resolution stereo aerial photography: An application for broad-scale rangeland monitoring","volume":"144","author":"Gillan","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Environ. Manag."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6497","DOI":"10.1080\/01431160902882496","article-title":"Estimating aboveground biomass of grassland having a high canopy cover: An exploratory analysis of in situ hyperspectral data","volume":"30","author":"Chen","year":"2009","journal-title":"Int. J. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"47","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2014.04.001","article-title":"Features of point clouds synthesized from multi-view ALOS\/PRISM data and comparisons with LiDAR data in forested areas","volume":"149","author":"Ni","year":"2014","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"224","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2006.11.014","article-title":"Forest canopy height and carbon estimation at monks wood national nature reserve, UK, using dual-wavelength sar interferometry","volume":"108","author":"Balzter","year":"2007","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"466","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2012.05.029","article-title":"Mapping forest aboveground biomass in the northeastern united states with alos palsar dual-polarization L-band","volume":"124","author":"Cartus","year":"2012","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Renaudin, E., and Mercer, B. (2012, January 22\u201327). Forest biomass derivation from single pass dual baseline polarisation coherence tomography. Proceedings of the 2012 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), Munich, Germany.","DOI":"10.1109\/IGARSS.2012.6351382"},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4017","DOI":"10.1029\/2005RS003436","article-title":"Polarization coherence tomography","volume":"41","author":"Cloude","year":"2006","journal-title":"Radio Sci."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"244","DOI":"10.1109\/JSTARS.2014.2365253","article-title":"Estimation of woody biomass of pine savanna woodlands from ALOS PALSAR imagery","volume":"8","author":"Michelakis","year":"2015","journal-title":"IEEE J. Sel. Top. Appl. Earth Observ. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"8081","DOI":"10.1080\/01431161.2013.829593","article-title":"Towards a detection of grassland cutting practices with dual polarimetric terrasar-X data","volume":"34","author":"Voormansik","year":"2013","journal-title":"Int. J. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2455","DOI":"10.3390\/rs4082455","article-title":"Towards detecting swath events in terrasar-X time series to establish natura 2000 grassland habitat swath management as monitoring parameter","volume":"4","author":"Schuster","year":"2012","journal-title":"Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"366","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ecss.2012.10.003","article-title":"Potential uses of terrasar-X for mapping herbaceous halophytes over salt marsh and tidal flats","volume":"115","author":"Lee","year":"2012","journal-title":"Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"98","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2015.04.015","article-title":"Combining airborne hyperspectral and lidar data across local sites for upscaling shrubland structural information: Lessons for hyspiri","volume":"167","author":"Mitchell","year":"2015","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"224","DOI":"10.2111\/REM-D-12-00186.1","article-title":"Estimating sagebrush biomass using terrestrial laser scanning","volume":"67","author":"Olsoy","year":"2014","journal-title":"Rangel. Ecol. Manag."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"338","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2013.11.024","article-title":"Modeling canopy height in a savanna ecosystem using spacebome lidar waveforms","volume":"154","author":"Gwenzi","year":"2014","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wasser, L., Day, R., Chasmer, L., and Taylor, A. (2013). Influence of vegetation structure on lidar-derived canopy height and fractional cover in forested riparian buffers during leaf-off and leaf-on conditions. PLoS ONE, 8.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0054776"},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"393","DOI":"10.1046\/j.1466-822x.2002.00303.x","article-title":"Lidar remote sensing of above-ground biomass in three biomes","volume":"11","author":"Lefsky","year":"2002","journal-title":"Glob. Ecol. Biogeogr."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"306","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2015.09.017","article-title":"Quantifying soil carbon loss and uncertainty from a peatland wildfire using multi-temporal lidar","volume":"170","author":"Reddy","year":"2015","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"78","DOI":"10.1029\/2010GL043622","article-title":"A global forest canopy height map from the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer and the geoscience laser altimeter system","volume":"37","author":"Lefsky","year":"2010","journal-title":"Geophys. Res. Lett."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"272","DOI":"10.1029\/2009JG000933","article-title":"Estimation of tropical forest height and biomass dynamics using lidar remote sensing at La Selva, Costa Rica","volume":"115","author":"Dubayah","year":"2010","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res. Biogeosci."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"11","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2007.03.011","article-title":"Integrating lidar data and multispectral imagery for enhanced classification of rangeland vegetation: A meta analysis","volume":"111","author":"Bork","year":"2007","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7619","DOI":"10.1109\/TGRS.2014.2315649","article-title":"Evaluating tree detection and segmentation routines on very high resolution UAV LiDAR data","volume":"52","author":"Wallace","year":"2014","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wallace, L., Lucieer, A., Malenovsk\u00fd, Z., Turner, D., and Vop\u011bnka, P. (2016). Assessment of forest structure using two uav techniques: A comparison of airborne laser scanning and structure from motion (SFM) point clouds. Forests, 7.","DOI":"10.3390\/f7030062"},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"54","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rama.2014.12.001","article-title":"Impacts of differing grazing rates on canopy structure and species composition in hulunber meadow steppe","volume":"68","author":"Yan","year":"2015","journal-title":"Rangel. Ecol. Manag."},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2452","DOI":"10.1175\/JTECH-D-12-00174.1","article-title":"Resolution and accuracy of an airborne scanning laser system for beach surveys","volume":"30","author":"Middleton","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. Atmos. Ocean. Technol."},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Tulldahl, H.M., Bissmarck, F., Larsson, H., Gr\u00f6nwall, C., and Tolt, G. (2015, January 21\u201322). Accuracy evaluation of 3D lidar data from small UAV. Proceedings of the SPIE Conference on Electro-Optical Remote Sensing, Photonic Technologies, and Applications IX, Toulouse, France.","DOI":"10.1117\/12.2194508"},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"153","DOI":"10.1016\/S0924-2716(99)00004-0","article-title":"Two algorithms for extracting building models from raw laser altimetry data","volume":"54","author":"Maas","year":"1999","journal-title":"ISPRS J. Photogramm. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_46","first-page":"111","article-title":"DEM generation from laser scanner data using adaptive TIN models","volume":"33","author":"Axelsson","year":"2000","journal-title":"Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2209","DOI":"10.2307\/1938633","article-title":"A 5-yr record of aerial primary production and stand characteristics of spartina alterniflora","volume":"71","author":"Morris","year":"1990","journal-title":"Ecology"},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"337","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ecss.2006.05.003","article-title":"Quantifying saltmarsh vegetation and its effect on wave height dissipation: Results from a UK east coast saltmarsh","volume":"69","year":"2006","journal-title":"Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci."},{"key":"ref_49","first-page":"79","article-title":"Assessing general relationships between aboveground biomass and vegetation structure parameters for improved carbon estimate from lidar remote sensing","volume":"115","author":"Lee","year":"2010","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res. Atmos."},{"key":"ref_50","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2493","DOI":"10.1080\/01431161.2014.883104","article-title":"Using earth observation-based dry season NDVI trends for assessment of changes in tree cover in the Sahel","volume":"35","author":"Tagesson","year":"2014","journal-title":"Int. J. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_51","first-page":"1842","article-title":"Positioning errors analysis on airborne lidar point clouds","volume":"43","author":"Li","year":"2014","journal-title":"Infrared Laser Eng."},{"key":"ref_52","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"148","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2008.09.001","article-title":"Effects of different sensors, flying altitudes, and pulse repetition frequencies on forest canopy metrics and biophysical stand properties derived from small-footprint airborne laser data","volume":"113","author":"Naesset","year":"2009","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_53","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"318","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2013.08.003","article-title":"Salt marsh elevation and habitat mapping using hyperspectral and lidar data","volume":"139","author":"Hladik","year":"2013","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_54","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"242","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2012.05.005","article-title":"Retrieval of vertical LAI profiles over tropical rain forests using waveform lidar at La Selva, Costa Rica","volume":"124","author":"Tang","year":"2012","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_55","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"131","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2013.12.007","article-title":"Deriving and validating Leaf Area Index (LAI) at multiple spatial scales through lidar remote sensing: A case study in Sierra National Forest, CA","volume":"143","author":"Tang","year":"2014","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_56","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"861","DOI":"10.1080\/01431160802395227","article-title":"Small-footprint, waveform-resolving lidar estimation of submerged and sub-canopy topography in coastal environments","volume":"30","author":"Nayegandhi","year":"2009","journal-title":"Int. J. Remote Sens."}],"container-title":["Sensors"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/17\/1\/180\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T18:26:32Z","timestamp":1760207192000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/17\/1\/180"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2017,1,19]]},"references-count":56,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2017,1]]}},"alternative-id":["s17010180"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/s17010180","relation":{},"ISSN":["1424-8220"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1424-8220","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2017,1,19]]}}}