Your inventory grown forward, or a fresh look at the canopy.

A canopy surface model from overlapping stereo images, regressed to a standing-volume estimate for your holding or project area, once a year. No LiDAR flight and no cruise crews.

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GSD
VHR / ≤0.5 m
Cadence
Annual
Platform
VHR satellite / aerial
Spectral
Panchromatic + Multispectral

The job today

Where the grown-forward inventory runs out

The volume in your appraisal is a stand database grown forward on a yield model since the last cruise. The valuation is due, and the question from the investment committee is how the standing wood compares with what the model says.

A new cruise puts crews in every stand. A LiDAR campaign is a flight to scope, tender and process, and it rarely lands before the close. So the model gets grown one more year, and nobody can say how far it has drifted from the trees.

Conifers in silhouette below a forested mountain slope, with mist in the valley

Grown-forward inventory or LiDAR campaign, next to a stereo pilot

  1. 01Getting fresh height data

    Today

    Cruise crews sample stands on the ground, or an airborne LiDAR flight is commissioned, flown and processed.

    With Canopy Height Mapping

    An overlapping VHR stereo pass over the parcel gives a canopy surface model, built from imagery already collectable from orbit or aircraft.

    Still yoursDeciding which parcels are worth a pilot.

  2. 02Covering the whole holding

    Today

    Plots stand in for the stands you did not visit, and a stand between plots takes the average.

    With Canopy Height Mapping

    The surface model covers every stand in the boundary you send, wall to wall.

  3. 03Turning height into volume

    Today

    Heights and diameters from plots go through the inventory's equations, and the stand table is grown forward.

    With Canopy Height Mapping

    The canopy model is regressed to a standing-volume estimate, fitted where you have ground plots and reported as an estimate.

    Still yoursThe plots, the equations and the call on what counts as merchantable.

  4. 04Getting a number before the close

    Today

    The appraisal waits on the crews or the flight, or goes ahead on the grown-forward figure.

    With Canopy Height Mapping

    We plan the pass backward from your valuation or reporting date, so you can say up front when you need the number.

  5. 05Defending it to a verifier or committee

    Today

    Thin, dated plot data behind a single biomass figure, explained in a methods paragraph.

    With Canopy Height Mapping

    A height model and a stated regression you can hand over with the delivery, with the uncertainty described rather than dressed up as a percentage.

    Still yoursThe monitoring report, the methodology choice and the verifier relationship.

What you get

What arrives with the pilot

  • GeoTIFF rasterRow 01

    Canopy surface model

    The height of the treetop surface across your parcel from the stereo pass, ready to load next to your stand layer. It serves the "getting fresh height data" row.

  • Table and layerRow 03

    Volume regression by parcel

    A standing-volume estimate per parcel, regressed from canopy height, with the method stated. It serves the "turning height into volume" row.

  • CSV

    Height profile export

    Elevation profiles you can cut along a line through a stand or across a boundary, for the forester who wants to see the shape of the canopy.

  • CSV or spreadsheet

    Parcel summary table

    A roll-up by parcel for the appraisal or the monitoring report, with the pass date and the method noted. The pilot is refreshed once a year.

How it works

  1. Before the valuation or reporting cycle opens

    Send the parcel or project-area boundary and tell us when the appraisal or monitoring report is due. Say what the estimate is for.

  2. Ahead of the growing season

    We plan an overlapping VHR stereo pass over the boundary against the clear-sky and leaf conditions that suit your forest. If you hold ground plots, send them for calibrating the regression.

  3. After the pass

    The surface model is built and regressed to volume. You get the model, the estimate and the parcel table, and the delivery notes where the pass fell short.

  4. Next year

    The same parcels are passed again the following year, so change in volume can be read against the last delivery.

Limits

  1. Stereo optical is not LiDAR

    The two are different measurements and the page treats them that way. Stereo sees the top of the canopy. It does not return points through the leaves, so it does not measure understory or the ground beneath.

  2. The ground still has to come from somewhere

    Canopy height is the treetop surface minus the ground. Under a closed canopy the stereo pair does not see the ground, so a terrain model is needed; if you hold one, send it.

  3. Cloud and daylight

    Both images in the pair need workable sky and light. A parcel with a short clear window can miss its pass in a bad year, and the delivery says so.

  4. An estimate, not a cruise

    Volume is a regression from height. It does not see stem diameter or species, and it does not replace merchantable volume from a cruise. We publish no accuracy percentage.

  5. Annual, not continuous

    One pass a year. It does not watch for storm damage, harvest or fire between passes.

  6. Resolution

    At 0.5 m or finer a mature crown covers many pixels, so stand-level height is well resolved. Single small trees in a dense stand and the gaps between them are not the aim.

Who it's for

Switch if

  • You are an asset manager holding timberland and the appraisal relies on a grown-forward inventory.
  • You develop or manage a carbon project and need a biomass figure you can defend without a LiDAR campaign.
  • You have some ground plots to calibrate against, or are willing to set them up.

Stick with cruises or LiDAR if

  • You need stem diameter, species or merchantable volume by product class.
  • You need a ground surface or understory structure from a point cloud.
  • You need certified credits from this delivery. It is not a certification.
  • You need more than one refresh a year.

Questions from the inventory desk

Does this replace our cruise?

No. It gives you a wall-to-wall canopy height and volume estimate. The cruise remains the source for diameters, species and merchantable volume.

Is this the same as LiDAR?

No. It is a surface model from overlapping optical images. LiDAR returns points through the canopy and is a different measurement.

How do we check it against our own plots?

Send your plot locations and heights with the boundary and the regression is fitted against them. The delivery lists how the estimate compares with the plots you supplied.

How certain is the volume number?

It is a regression estimate and is reported as one. We do not attach an accuracy percentage to it.

Does cloud cover affect the pass?

Yes. Both images of the pair need workable sky and light. The pass is planned around your parcel's usual window, and the delivery notes where it fell short.

Can it be refreshed more than once a year?

Not at the moment. The pilot is built around an annual pass.

Will it open in our GIS?

The surface model and layers are standard GIS files, and the tables are CSV, so they open next to your stand layer.

Who owns the delivered layers?

Use and ownership terms are written into the contract before the pilot starts.

How is a pilot priced?

Each pilot is scoped and quoted on its own. You get a written scope first.

A conifer treeline in silhouette against a twilight sky

Send the boundary and the date your volume number is due.

Or .

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