Abstract
Lidar remote sensing, which directly measures vertical forest structure, is a breakthrough technology with many forestry applications. Using the laser light equivalent of radar, lidar instruments accurately estimate such important forest structural characteristics as canopy heights, stand volume, basal area, and above-ground biomass. And because subcanopy vegetation height is a function of species composition, climate, and site quality, the results can be used for land cover classification, habitat mapping, and forest wildlife management.