Kookmin University team co-develops technology of calculating how much carbon trees store
Kang Wan-mo, left, professor in the Department of Forestry, Environment and Systems at Kookmin University and Hwang Se-yeon, a graduate student majoring in forest resources / Courtesy of Kookmin University
New method using LiDAR can be applied to urban gardens, forests
A Kookmin University research team has developed a technology that can measure the amount of carbon stored in trees in a nondestructive way in collaboration with the Sejong National Arboretum.
The university said Friday that the development is the outcome of an agreement it signed with the arboretum in September 2024 to co-develop a technology that would enhance the carbon storage capacity of urban forests.
The arboretum is affiliated with the Korea Arboreta and Gardens Institute which is responsible for operating national arboretums in the country while conserving, enhancing and restoring forest biodiversity.
Led by Kang Wan-mo, a professor in the Department of Forestry, Environment and Systems, the team devised the method of predicting trees’ carbon storage capacity last year by using drone-based light detection and ranging (LiDAR) equipment.
Since then, the team has advanced the method by using ground-based LiDAR devices, finally developing the technology for calculating how much carbon trees absorb in urban gardens and forests.
A Kookmin University researcher measures how much carbon trees absorb in an urban forest in an undisclosed location by using ground-based light detection and ranging devices. Courtesy of Kookmin University
The university said the team conducted research on four major types of trees — zelkova, metasequoia, pine tree and buckeye — in the arboretum and urban gardens in the country.
Researchers measured the height of the trees as well as the size and volume of their stems and branches in a nondestructive way by using ground-based LiDAR equipment.
The team has applied a quantitative structure model to produce the 3D structure of the trees based on their point cloud data acquired during the measurement.
Through the process, the team has calculated the amount of carbon stored in trees with high accuracy by exploring a geometrical form of their complex stems and branches and calculating the entire volume of each tree.
The university noted that the calculation technology is important in that it can be applied to gardens or small forests in cities where diverse trees grow in a complex space structure.
It expects the technology to contribute greatly to demonstrating the effect of trees’ carbon storage capacity in arboretum, gardens and urban forests.
“The research is significant in that the technology has paved the way for its application through the automation of the whole process of tracking tree structures and calculating the stored carbon amount in urban forests with diverse trees growing in complex spaces,” said Hwang Se-yeon, a graduate student majoring in forest resources who participated in the research.
The findings were published in the Journal of the Korean Cadastre Information Association in April.