Use of airborne scanning lidar and large scale photography within a strategic forest inventory and monitoring framework

Australia has approximately 160 million hectares of forest and woodland, 70% of which is under private ownership. Increasing commitments in relation to climate change and sustainable forest management, particularly in the private sector, is creating an environment where rapid, cost-effective assessment and monitoring of forests is becoming critical. Using an example from Injune, central Queensland, this paper provides an overview of the potential use of both airborne scanning lidar and large scale photography as sampling tools. The capability of these sensors for extending and optimising ground-truth data and, in turn, maximising the potential of other forms of remote sensing through improved calibration and validation, is outlined.