LiDAR vs. SfM: Which is better for analysing habitat of the harvest mouse (Micromys minutus)?

Abstract. The harvest mouse, Micromys minutus (Pallas, 1771) is the smallest rodent in Japan and now listed in the Red Data Books of Tokyo, 2 prefectural capitals, and 28 prefectures in Japan due to drastic decline of grasslands. For the harvest mouse, the height and density of the tall grass species where nesting occurs are considered particularly important. However, it has been difficult to continuously and extensively acquire information on the three-dimensional structure of herbaceous vegetation. With recent development of UAV technology, UAV data are beginning to be applied to the analysis of herbaceous vegetation. For acquiring three-dimensional information via UAV, methods include using LiDAR sensors or generating 3D point cloud data from aerial photographs using SfM. This study evaluates whether UAV LiDAR or UAV SfM is more suitable for estimating the height of tall grass species such as Japanese silver grass (Miscanthus sinensis), which serve as important nesting sites for the harvest mouse. As a result of analysis, the proposed method was found to be effective to estimate grass height regardless of whether UAV LiDAR or UAV SfM is used. However, when comparing the accuracy of canopy height estimation using UAV LiDAR data alone, UAV SfM data alone, and combined UAV LiDAR and SfM data, combined UAV LiDAR and SfM data found to perform best. Maximum canopy height was found to be best estimated using the combination of median of hand-measured five maximum canopy height values and maximum height calculated using the combined UAV LiDAR and SfM data.