Right on target: monopods and polystyrene spheres as an alternative to traditional tripods for terrestrial laser scanning

Terrestrial lidar is an increasingly popular tool to understand forest stand structure, biomass distribution, and fuel characteristics. A common approach is a multiscan protocol, which reduces the risk of occlusion. To merge the different scans, identical reference points (targets) are necessary. However, the additional equipment required can be expensive and cumbersome. We tested three different target systems during field work in Ontario’s Boreal forest and compared each system’s cost, weight, precision, and ease of use. We found that currently used target configurations are typically expensive and heavy, but straightforward to use. We proposed an alternative target configuration, a monopod, which was inexpensive, lightweight, and more precise; however, it was not suitable in all terrains. Our goal was to identify cost-effective and weight-efficient equipment alternatives to make lidar data acquisition more accessible.