3D point clouds of temperate forest stands in the UK and US, 2019-2020
https://doi.org/10.5285/ff062c22-1297-4819-a40f-6585209d4c5e
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This dataset consists of high-resolution 3D point clouds of temperate forest stands of diverse species. The point clouds were obtained across the US and the UK during 2019 and 2020. The US point clouds were acquired using a Riegl-VZ400i TLS scanner in Sycan Marsh, Oregon and the UK point clouds were acquired using a GeoSLAM ZEB Horizon in Loch Lomond, Scotland. This dataset can be used to explore structural differences across forests and as test data for 3D point cloud pipelines.
Publication date: 2026-07-20
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Format
.laz
Spatial information
Study area
Spatial representation type
Tabular (text)
Spatial reference system
WGS 84
Spatial resolution
100 metres
Temporal information
Temporal extent
2019-07-08 to 2020-07-12
Provenance & quality
US Point clouds:
Point cloud acquisition was done between 8th and 12th July 2019 in a 200x200 m2 study plot of a ponderosa pine woodland in Sycan Marsh preserve, Oregon, USA. TLS point cloud sampling was performed along a 50 m grid to create a synoptic scan. The point clouds have been acquired with a RIEGL-VZ400i TLS system with a laser sampling rate 750 kHz and a vertical sampling density of 0.21 degrees, mounted on a tripod at a minimum height of 1.5 m. Point cloud was georeferenced using the integrated L1 GPS receiver, compass and inclination sensors of the TLS system and ground control points whose coordinates were recorded were recorded using an RTK/Differential GPS receiver/base combination. The raw scans were pre-processed using Riegl's proprietary software RiSCAN PRO to assign metadata (scanner position, scan ID, date/time), align all scans into a common coordinate system and divide the total study area in 40 x 40 m2 plots (n = 25 plots). These resulting plots were finally stored into LAZ files.
UK Point clouds:
Point cloud acquisition was done between 24th and 28th November 2020 in different plots of Loch Lomond. MLS point cloud sampling was performed along approximately 30x30 m plots. The point clouds have been acquired with a GeoSLAM ZEB Horizon handheld MLS system with a laser sampling rate 300 kHz and a vertical sampling density of 0.20 degrees, with a field of view of 360° x 270°. The raw scans were pre-processed using Faro's proprietary software Faro Connect to assign metadata (scanner position, scan ID, date/time), apply an SLAM algorithm to each scan to register the point clouds and to denoise them. The point clouds were then exported to CloudCompare to trim them to the final shapes. These resulting plots were finally stored into LAZ files
Point cloud acquisition was done between 8th and 12th July 2019 in a 200x200 m2 study plot of a ponderosa pine woodland in Sycan Marsh preserve, Oregon, USA. TLS point cloud sampling was performed along a 50 m grid to create a synoptic scan. The point clouds have been acquired with a RIEGL-VZ400i TLS system with a laser sampling rate 750 kHz and a vertical sampling density of 0.21 degrees, mounted on a tripod at a minimum height of 1.5 m. Point cloud was georeferenced using the integrated L1 GPS receiver, compass and inclination sensors of the TLS system and ground control points whose coordinates were recorded were recorded using an RTK/Differential GPS receiver/base combination. The raw scans were pre-processed using Riegl's proprietary software RiSCAN PRO to assign metadata (scanner position, scan ID, date/time), align all scans into a common coordinate system and divide the total study area in 40 x 40 m2 plots (n = 25 plots). These resulting plots were finally stored into LAZ files.
UK Point clouds:
Point cloud acquisition was done between 24th and 28th November 2020 in different plots of Loch Lomond. MLS point cloud sampling was performed along approximately 30x30 m plots. The point clouds have been acquired with a GeoSLAM ZEB Horizon handheld MLS system with a laser sampling rate 300 kHz and a vertical sampling density of 0.20 degrees, with a field of view of 360° x 270°. The raw scans were pre-processed using Faro's proprietary software Faro Connect to assign metadata (scanner position, scan ID, date/time), apply an SLAM algorithm to each scan to register the point clouds and to denoise them. The point clouds were then exported to CloudCompare to trim them to the final shapes. These resulting plots were finally stored into LAZ files
Licensing and constraints
This dataset is available under the terms of the Open Government Licence 
Cite this dataset as:
Cabo, C.; Santin, C.; Doerr, S.; Parsons, R.A.; Hudak, A.T.; Laino, D.; Suarez-Minguez, J.C. (2026). 3D point clouds of temperate forest stands in the UK and US, 2019-2020. NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/ff062c22-1297-4819-a40f-6585209d4c5e
Related
Correspondence/contact details
Other contacts
Publisher
NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre
info@eidc.ac.uk
Rights holder
Swansea University
Custodian
NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre
info@eidc.ac.uk