Alice Mulga Terrestrial LiDAR, 2021 

This terrestrial LiDAR dataset captures detailed vegetation structural information at the Alice Mulga SuperSite on Pine Hill Cattle Station in the Northern Territory, Australia. The purpose of this data is to enhance understanding of vegetation dynamics and ecosystem function in the region. The dataset is part of a broader collection of Terrestrial LiDAR data acquired from all TERN SuperSites, aimed at achieving a standardized and highly detailed capture of 3D vegetation structure across Australia. 

We at TERN acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians throughout Australia, New Zealand and all nations. We honour their profound connections to land, water, biodiversity and culture and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging. This work was jointly funded by the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN), an Australian Government National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) project, CSIRO and the University of Queensland. This work was also supported by an Australian Research Council DECRA Fellowship (DE190101182).
The TERN Alice Springs Mulga SuperSite is managed by the University of Technology Sydney. 

Terrestrial LiDAR measurements can be used to assess vegetation structure, create 3D reconstructions, and perform terrain surface analysis. 

The 1-hectare plot underwent sampling utilizing a 20 m grid configuration employing a Riegl VZ-2000i Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) operating at 600 kHz. This dataset comprises 36 scans captured within the 1-hectare grid and 4 external.
Raw processing of the TLS data and co-registration of scans was conducted in Riegl’s RiSCAN PRO software suite. The internal inclination and orientation sensors of the Riegl VZ-2000i enabled scans to be placed in geographic coordinates with rough alignment. Riegl’s Multi-Station Adjustment tool (MSA) was used to refine the alignment until an overall RMSE of 0.02 m was attained.
The dataset is available as a compressed RiSCAN PRO project and single scans as LAZ 1.4. Single scans are given in the scanner coordinate system. Transformations matrices for each position are made available for both global (WGS 84 / UTM zone 53S) and local coordinate systems.