Toward a Collaborative Framework: Integrating Remote Sensing Research with Forestry Practice

Millions of aerial photographs represent an enormous resource for geoscientists. In this study, we used freely available historical stereo images covering Switzerland (1979–2006) to derive four countrywide digital elevation models (DSMs) at a 1 m spatial resolution. Our DSMs achieved sub-metric accuracy compared to reference data and high image matching completeness, demonstrating the feasibility of capturing surface change at a high spatial resolution over different land cover classes.

Wood density is crucial for ecological and carbon stock assessment, yet its labor-intensive analysis limits studies across species and spaces. Our study, based on 48,000 samples from Central Europe, reveals that, even without species information, 91% of inter-tree variations can be predicted by vegetation indexes, topography, and soil texture. Importantly, we highlight neglected intra-tree variation, showing substantial variations vertically along the height and radially from the center to bark.