2016 USFS Lidar: Colville East, WA

Product: Classified lidar point cloud

Lidar elevation was collected for the eastern portion of the Colville National Forest in Washington State for the United States Forest Service (USFS), Region 6. This dataset is part of a larger collection detailed in the data report. The dataset was received by NOAA from USFS without metadata. This metadata was created based upon the data report from Atlantic, LLC.

Aerial lidar data for this task order was planned, acquired, processed and produced at a nominal pulse spacing (NPS) of 0.5 meters and nominal pulse density of 4.2 pulses per square meter.

The primary goals of this project are to provide high accuracy Light Detection and Ranging (lidar) data to enhance project planning and implementation; identify areas for the implementation of forest restoration treatments designed to restore forest structure in young-growth stands; and to provide engineering and resource specialists more information for on-the-ground project planning. In addition, these data will be used by researchers and scientists to characterize vegetation type and structure as it currently exists on the landscape and to provide a detailed, accurate, and precise benchmark for future change detection work. The data products specified herein may also be used for vegetation mapping, road identification and mapping, hydrologic feature delineation, and landcover characterization applications including a canopy height model, understory vegetation prediction, and other stand metrics.

All derived products for Forest Service R6 Data Resources Management

The data represented is the result of data collection and processing per contract specifications and indicates the general existing conditions at the time of data collection. As such, it is only valid for its intended use, content, time, and accuracy specifications. The user is responsible for the results of any application of the data for other than its intended purpose.

Any conclusions drawn from the analysis of this information are not the responsibility of NOAA, the Office for Coastal Management or its partners

Data is available online for bulk or custom downloads

None

Users should be aware that temporal changes may have occurred since this data set was collected and some parts of this data may no longer represent actual surface conditions. Users should not use this data for critical applications without a full awareness of its limitations.

A total of two hundred and fifty-five (255) control points were collected for this project. Point cloud data accuracy was tested against a Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN) constructed from lidar points in clear and open areas. A clear and open area can be characterized with respect to topographic and ground cover variation such that a minimum of 5 times the NPS exists with less than 1/3 of the RMSEZ deviation from a low-slope plane. Slopes that exceed 10 percent were avoided. These control points and statistics are for the entire project, of which this dataset is only a part.

The fundamental vertical accuracy (FVA) using the 255 control points in non-vegetated areas was 0.13 meters at the 95% confidence limit. This was derived from the root mean square error value of 0.066 meters calculated from the lidar and control point discrepancies.

Data is backed up to tape and to cloud storage.