Characterization of tree structures from mobile LiDAR data for the identification of ASH trees

This paper discussed an approach developed for the characterization of tree structures for the identification of Ash trees. The objective of this study was to support the effort in saving Ash trees from the attack by the Emerald Ash borer by identifying Ash trees from mobile LiDAR data. Using this data set, we employed a hieratical elimination approach to test if a tree was an Ash tree through a series of stages based on knowledge on the characteristics of an Ash tree. Preliminary results were promising, showing that our proposed methods had the ability to filter out non-Ash trees. We look to test more trees in the future and expand our filtering stages to assist in more accurate Ash tree identification.