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Remote sensing technologies have provided valuable data for landscape modeling, vegetation mapping and comprehensive studies of ecosystems. Airborne laser mapping or LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) can directly measure the three dimensional structure of plant canopies, as well as, provide accurate digital terrain models (DTM). While temperate and boreal pine forests have been studied using these methods, very limited work has been done in subtropical pine forests. In this study, airborne LIDAR was used to characterize the three dimensional structure of the forest on Long Pine Key at Everglades National Park. Analysis of the vertical distribution of airborne LIDAR data points has shown that distinctive patterns can be described which are characteristic of the vegetation communities and transition zones for pine forests , hammocks and marshes. This information is a valuable resource for forest managers by providing landscape structural data over large areas.

In this paper we describe a methodology to map mangrove forests in 3D in the Caribbean region. We used shuttle radar topography mission (SRTM) elevation, lidar and field data to estimate mangrove mean tree height at the landscape scale. This paper emphasizes two regions which are undergoing ecosystem restoration activities: The Everglades National Park, USA and Cienaga Grande de Santa Marta, Colombia. In these regions we used, respectively, airborne and spaceborne (ICEsat (ice, cloud,and land elevation satellite )) lidar data to calibrate SRTM data and estimate mean tree height. Our results show the method is accurate if mangrove forest canopy vertical structure is well characterized.

In this paper we present a method using airborne laser mapping data to describe the vertical structure of a coastal mangrove forest in southeastern Florida. Mangroves are critical to coastal processes and the maintenance of vital habitats; however they are also highly threatened due to coastal development and rising sea levels. Access to mangroves for detailed ground surveys is extremely difficult due to dense vegetation and lack of stable ground in the tidal zone. Airborne laser mapping can provide accurate measurements of vegetation structure over large areas without the logistical difficulties of extensive ground surveys. In our method we derive frequency height histograms from the laser mapping data followed by the creation of image objects from areas sharing similar vertical height profiles. These image objects are classified based on their vertical height profiles and related to heights of mangrove forest communities obtained from field surveys. We show that airborne laser mapping technology can be used to classify mangrove forests and to study the spatial relationships among the different forest types.