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A 3D forest monitoring system, called FORSAT (a satellite very high resolution image processing platform for forest assessment), was developed for the extraction of 3D geometric forest information from very high resolution (VHR) satellite imagery and the automatic 3D change detection. FORSAT is composed of two complementary tasks: (1) the geometric and radiometric processing of satellite optical imagery and digital surface model (DSM) reconstruction by using a precise and robust image matching approach specially designed for VHR satellite imagery, (2) 3D surface comparison for change detection. It allows the users to import DSMs, align them using an advanced 3D surface matching approach and calculate the 3D differences and volume changes (together with precision values) between epochs. FORSAT is a single source and flexible forest information solution, allowing expert and non-expert remote sensing users to monitor forests in three and four (time) dimensions. The geometric resolution and thematic content of VHR optical imagery are sufficient for many forest information needs such as deforestation, clear-cut and fire severity mapping. The capacity and benefits of FORSAT, as a forest information system contributing to the sustainable forest management, have been tested and validated in case studies located in Austria, Switzerland and Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

3D computer vision techniques are now required for the virtual reconstruction of ancient buildings and monuments in urban environments. In this paper, we include a new subfield within the broad field of Urban Heritage that we denominate as Rural Heritage (RH), and which is focused on recovering 3D models of small buildings and facilities of significance in rural environments. We, therefore, present a multi-sensory approach whose objective is to create complete architectural documentation of the dovecotes in an extended region of central Spain. This kind of aviary construction was very common in Spanish rural environments during the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century and is representative of an RH building. Sensory fusion was developed using color cameras, 3D terrestrial laser scanners, and photogrammetric techniques with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and achieves precise indoor and outdoor 3D models. The sensory fusion here also refers to the fact that the information coming from different sensors is integrated into a common documentation framework. A total of 80 dovecotes have been referenced and made available to the public in open access resources. The successful results and applicability of our method lead us to believe that the current documentation and the safeguard technologies in the RH field should evolve towards the use of these 3D computer vision techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]