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<front>
<journal-meta>
<journal-id journal-id-type="publisher">ISPRS-Archives</journal-id>
<journal-title-group>
<journal-title>The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences</journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="publisher">ISPRS-Archives</abbrev-journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="nlm-ta">Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci.</abbrev-journal-title>
</journal-title-group>
<issn pub-type="epub">2194-9034</issn>
<publisher><publisher-name>Copernicus Publications</publisher-name>
<publisher-loc>Göttingen, Germany</publisher-loc>
</publisher>
</journal-meta>
<article-meta>
<article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-M-7-2025-299-2025</article-id>
<title-group>
<article-title>Digital Forest Inventory Using Fused UAV and PLS Point Cloud Data</article-title>
</title-group>
<contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Bülbül</surname>
<given-names>Ramazan</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Reder</surname>
<given-names>Stefan</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Berendt</surname>
<given-names>Ferréol</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff2">
<sup>2</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Beiler</surname>
<given-names>Kevin</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Cremer</surname>
<given-names>Tobias</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff2">
<sup>2</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Mund</surname>
<given-names>Jan-Peter</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
</contrib-group><aff id="aff1">
<label>1</label>
<addr-line>Dept. for GIS and Remote Sensing, Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, Eberswalde, Germany</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff2">
<label>2</label>
<addr-line>Dept. of Forest Utilization and Timber Market, Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, Eberswalde, Germany</addr-line>
</aff>
<pub-date pub-type="epub">
<day>25</day>
<month>05</month>
<year>2025</year>
</pub-date>
<volume>XLVIII-M-7-2025</volume>
<fpage>299</fpage>
<lpage>304</lpage>
<permissions>
<copyright-statement>Copyright: &#x000a9; 2025 Ramazan Bülbül et al.</copyright-statement>
<copyright-year>2025</copyright-year>
<license license-type="open-access">
<license-p>This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this licence, visit <ext-link ext-link-type="uri"  xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</ext-link></license-p>
</license>
</permissions>
<self-uri xlink:href="https://isprs-archives.copernicus.org/articles/XLVIII-M-7-2025/299/2025/isprs-archives-XLVIII-M-7-2025-299-2025.html">This article is available from https://isprs-archives.copernicus.org/articles/XLVIII-M-7-2025/299/2025/isprs-archives-XLVIII-M-7-2025-299-2025.html</self-uri>
<self-uri xlink:href="https://isprs-archives.copernicus.org/articles/XLVIII-M-7-2025/299/2025/isprs-archives-XLVIII-M-7-2025-299-2025.pdf">The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://isprs-archives.copernicus.org/articles/XLVIII-M-7-2025/299/2025/isprs-archives-XLVIII-M-7-2025-299-2025.pdf</self-uri>
<abstract>
<p>Accurate digital forest inventory (DFI) is essential for sustainable forest management, yet single-sensor LiDAR approaches often fall short in capturing the full vertical structure of forest stands. This study evaluates the performance of a fused dataset combining UAV-based LiDAR (ULS) and personal laser scanner (PLS) data to overcome platform-specific limitations. A mixed forest stand in northeastern Germany was surveyed using both ULS and PLS under consistent scanning patterns, supported by ground control points for georeferencing. Point cloud fusion was achieved through a dynamic marker-based alignment and refined using partial iterative closest point (ICP) registration. The fused dataset, processed in TreeLS, enabled detailed stem reconstruction and vertical canopy characterization. Comparative analysis against field-measured tree metrics revealed a mean deviation of &amp;minus;2.5% for diameter at breast height (DBH) and +4.9% for tree height, with RMSE values of 2.9 cm and 3.84 m, respectively. These results highlight the complementary strengths of ULS and PLS platforms, demonstrating that their integration significantly enhances the accuracy, completeness, and efficiency of forest inventories. The presented workflow supports scalable, repeatable, and ecologically informative forest assessments, offering substantial potential for precision forestry and long-term monitoring applications.</p>
</abstract>
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