Measuring and Preserving the Texas A&M Century Tree using Mobile LiDAR
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Date
2023-10-25
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Abstract
As a symbol of Texas A&M University, the Century Tree is one of the most recognizable
landmarks in College Station, Texas. This massive Live Oak (Quercus virginiana) has been
growing at the university since the late 1800’s, and supports numerous traditions and
scholarships important to the campus community. As part of a new monitoring and preservation
effort, we employed the use of mobile LiDAR as a non-invasive approach for estimating physical
parameters of the tree and creating a 3D digital rendering. Our study suggests that LiDAR-
derived measurements are more precise than traditional field-based methods for estimating tree
height and diameter at breast height in an urban setting. These measurements can be utilized
alongside species-specific allometric equations to estimate values previously calculated by
collecting samples which may damage the tree. This study also contributes to the ability of
LiDAR point clouds to be used as a tool for cultural preservation alongside historical
recordkeeping.
Description
This project was completed under Dr. Sorin Popescu in the Dept. of Ecology and Conservation Biology as part of a final project for the Spring 2023 Drones for Environmental Remote Sensing course (ECCB 646). LiDAR datasets are available here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lHdNZik_Kj2KkkZmx5H0NhQjua9GvcUx?usp=sharing
Keywords
Century Tree, Mobile LiDAR, Digital preservation, Texas A&M