Beyond Canopy Cover: characterizing the structural complexity of forests from a horizontal perspective using tree level attributes from optical images

PhD defence by Xin Xu

Assessment Committee

Senior scientist Annemarie Bastrup-Birk, Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Man, University of Copenhagen (Chairperson)
Senior Biospheric Scientist Compton James Tucker, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Associate Professor Wei Li, Department of Earth System Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing

Supervisors

Professor Rasmus Fensholt
Associate Professor Martin Brandt

Department

Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management

Place

Building: Geocenter, Room: Auditorium C, Øster Voldgade 10, 1350 København

Email address to gain access to the thesis: xinxu@ign.ku.dk.
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Short description of the thesis

Understanding forest structure is important for assessing biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, and the progress of forest conservation and restoration. This PhD thesis proposes a novel Horizontal Structure Index (HSI) for quantifying forest structural complexity from a horizontal perspective. The index integrates individual tree attributes and their spatial relationships derived from state-of-the-art remote sensing imagery and deep learning techniques, enabling the characterization of spatial patterns and temporal dynamics of forest structure at regional scales. The developed approach provides new opportunities for large-scale, quality-oriented forest monitoring, with potential applications in biodiversity conservation, ecosystem restoration, and sustainable forest management.