Evaluation of Global and High-Resolution Canopy Height Models for Forest Monitoring and Disturbance Detection: From GEDI Footprint to Deep Learning High-Resolution Mapping

Abstract

Accurate mapping of forest canopy height is fundamental to modern forestry, providing essential structural data for biomass estimation and monitoring forest health. This study evaluates the broad usability of global (25 m) and high-resolution (1 m) Canopy Height Models (CHMs) by comparing them against temporally aligned Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) reference layers from 2018 and 2024. At the 25 m scale, we evaluated four global products: Global Forest Canopy Height (GFCH), Global Map of Tree Canopy Height (GMTCH), High-Resolution Canopy Height model of Earth (HRCH), and Europe Temporal Canopy Height (EUCH). These satellite-derived models exhibit significant height-dependent limitations, systematically underestimating mature forest canopies (>30 m) by more than 15 m due to signal saturation, though EUCH and GMTCH performed moderately better. Transitioning to 1 m high-resolution data revealed a dramatic recovery in structural fidelity. A photogrammetrically derived model (PALS) achieved an RMSE of 4.89 m and a Mean Error (ME) of 1.86 m, demonstrating remarkable vertical stability across complex topography, even on slopes >25°. While coniferous stands produced higher absolute errors (RMSE = 6.75 m) than deciduous stands (RMSE = 6.19 m) due to spire-like architectures, PALS effectively captured fine-scale canopy textures. Experimental deep learning architectures, specifically the ArcGIS Living Atlas model, showed promise with an RMSE of 8.90 m, though out-of-the-box implementations struggle without local calibration. For forest disturbance monitoring, a distinct performance trade-off emerged. High-resolution photogrammetry (PALS) provided the highest overall precision for identifying clear-cuts (F1 = 0.353) but was conservative, capturing only 51% of the reference area. In contrast, the global HRCH model captured the total spatial footprint (103.9% of area) despite its geometric inaccuracies. The Living Atlas deep learning model offered the most balanced sensitivity, detecting 118.6% of the area with a competitive F1 score of 0.326. Ultimately, digital aerial photogrammetry provides a cost-effective solution for frequent operational updates, such as the two-year national mapping cycle in the Czech Republic.

Plant phenotyping relevance

森林キャノピー高という植物構造形質を対象に、複数の衛星・航空・深層学習モデルをALS基準と比較評価しており、測定手法の技術的検証が中心である。

Code and data availability

The supplied blocks describe the paper's own ALS/PALS data as provided by Czechglobe and ČÚZK (data providers, not public deposits), and the evaluated global CHM products (GFCH, GMTCH, HRCH, EUCH) are cited third-party prior works rather than paper-specific assets. No author analysis code, scripts, trained models, or a

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