Quantifying and mapping the ready-to-use veneer volume of European beech trees based on terrestrial laser scanning data

Abstract

Using 3D point clouds obtained with terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), we automatically and non-destructively quantified and mapped the estimated veneer wood volume of standing trees in differently structured beech stands. To mitigate climate change, we need to utilise wood for long-term carbon storage in products like construction wood and for substituting building materials based on fossil fuels. As the supply of wood from Norway spruce decreases, alternative species like beech must be considered for construction purposes. We present an approach to quantify and map the volume available for veneer production in beech forests. Our method is based on point clouds derived from TLS. We studied three forest plots, each with two different treatments (moderate vs. heavy thinning), resulting in varying stand basal areas ranging from 25 m 2 to 36 m 2 per hectare. We fitted different configurations of veneer rolls into point clouds of tree stems, choosing the configuration that yielded the highest volume of veneer wood. Our automatic optimisation algorithm ensured no misplaced veneer rolls. At the tree level, veneer wood volume was higher in intensely thinned stands. At the stand level, overall veneer volume was higher in moderately thinned stands, whereas the overall veneer share was higher in the heavily thinned stands. The veneer volume of a tree depended on diameter at breast height, crown base height, taper and curvature depth. Our approach detects all trees in a forest potentially ready for veneer production and shows the direct volumetric outcome under bark. This enables the planning of tree selection for harvest based on adaptable requirements for the veneer production.

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