A point cloud profile view of a section of forest in East Gippsland. The trees are shaded in green, the ground in browns and greens, and black for negative space around the natural features.

- Point-cloud profile view of a forest in East Gippsland.

Canopy coverage is visualised in different shades of green to indicate canopy height of trees dotted across the image. The contours of the ground underneath are shaded in grey with lines drawn on the side of slopes representing the contours and height of the land.

- View of elevation products (DEM/CHM) using hillshade and false-colour for height above ground.

The image is split vertically into two halves. In shades of grey, the right hand side shows the resolution of a 10 m digital elevation model of an area of land and is heavily pixelated. The right hand side, also in shades of grey, shows the same area but at a 50 cm resolution with much clearer and nuanced contours for each slope.

- Comparison between existing 10 m resolution DEM (left) and new 50 cm DEM (right).

Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs) are 20-year agreements between the Australian and state governments for the conservation and sustainable management of Australia's native forests. The 2020-21 RFA LiDAR project represents the state's largest-ever acquisition of LiDAR for the purposes of mapping forest values. This data has been used to create high-resolution 3D models of Victoria’s forest structure - from the top of the forest canopy through to the understorey.

Through collaboration with the University of Melbourne and Monash University, researchers modelled detailed and accurate forest maps. These maps can be used to improve fuel load modelling for fire management purposes and to understand the interaction of critical species and their forest environments.

Extent: 13,419 km2
Point density: 22 points/m2 (first returns)
Colourised: No
Coordinate reference system: GDA2020 MGA 55, AHD
Point cloud: LAZ 1.4, ICSM level 2
Elevation products and resolution: DEM 50 cm, CHM 50 cm, FCM 10 m, INT 1 m
Vertical accuracy: 10 cm (RMSE)

Availability: Open via Geoscience Australia ELVIS

Partner agencies: Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action (DEECA).

View elevation glossary (DOCX, 140.1 KB).

A LiDAR image showing terrain and tree coverage in East Gippsland. Ground cover is shown in orange and tree coverage in grey.
A visual of the East Gippsland LiDAR sample data available for download or preview via web browser.
Download data sample
View sample in web browser

Page last updated: 12/10/23