The role of ground-based laser scanning in quantifying and crediting tropical forest restoration: An Australian case study
Cheesman, Alexander W., Cernusak, Lucas A., Yatsko, Abbey R., Calvert, Jed, and Cook, Keith (2026) The role of ground-based laser scanning in quantifying and crediting tropical forest restoration: An Australian case study. Ecological Solutions and Evidence, 7. e70213.
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Abstract
Tropical forest restoration is a critical component of efforts to meet the global challenges of climate change, biodiversity decline and land degradation. Financing the adoption of large-scale restoration efforts requires accurate and robust evaluation of their benefits. Ground-based techniques such as terrestrial or mobile laser scanning (TLS or MLS) allow for accurate, repeatable and importantly traceable determination of forest biomass and structure. The use of these techniques in assessing forest restoration offers an opportunity to both improve ecosystem models that underpin current carbon markets and provide for the direct tracking of carbon sequestration into regenerating forests over time. Furthermore, the evaluation of ecosystem structural metrics (e.g. canopy closure and structural complexity) can help provide robust and transparent data to underpin nascent environmental and biodiversity markets to help support forest restoration. Here, we consider the emerging role of ground-based laser scanning in supporting tropical forest restoration using experiences from the Wet Tropics of Australia as one of the most mature carbon markets on earth, and one in which co-benefits of tropical forest restoration are being incorporated into restoration finance models. Solution: Integrating ground-based laser scanning into the evaluation of tropical forest restoration can provide stakeholders with direct evidence of restoration outcomes, thus increasing confidence in carbon and biodiversity credit valuation. By directly addressing known barriers to adoption, we believe the use of ground-based laser scanning, especially when coupled with other emerging technologies, will help support the financing of large-scale forest restoration efforts.
| Item ID: | 91052 |
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| Item Type: | Article (Research - C1) |
| ISSN: | 2688-8319 |
| Keywords: | carbon credits,carbon markets,LiDAR,restoration,tropical forest |
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| Copyright Information: | This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2026 The Author(s). Ecological Solutions and Evidence published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society. |
| Date Deposited: | 31 Mar 2026 02:57 |
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