Detecting Urban Street Tree Carbon Stock and Uptake Using a Vehicle-Based LiDAR–Camera System Integrated with Computer Vision

Professor Youngryel Ryu group from Department of Landscape Architecture and Rural Systems Engineering at SNU has mapped carbon stock and growth of individual street trees using LiDAR-camera fusion-basd mobile mapping system and published this work in Remote Sensing of Environment.



 Urban areas remain one of the least quantified ecosystems in terms of carbon sequestration capacity, primarily due to the limitations of traditional remote sensing technologies. While street trees account for a significant portion of urban vegetation, their isolated distribution and the complex land cover of cities often render satellite and airborne platforms insufficient for individual-level observation.

 To address this challenge, Professor Youngryel Ryu’s research team at Seoul National University developed an innovative vehicle-based mobile mapping system equipped with LiDAR and camera sensors. This system enables the accurate detection of street tree location, species, and carbon stock.

 Applied in Suwon, Republic of Korea, the system successfully mapped 34,124 individual street trees. The total carbon stock of these trees was estimated at 6,180 tons of carbon, while the median annual increase in carbon stock was found to be approximately 27.1 kg of carbon per tree.

 This research not only enhances our understanding of urban vegetation's role in carbon sequestration, but also demonstrates the practical value of vehicle-based remote sensing in constructing high-resolution urban forest inventories. The developed system can inform decision-making processes related to sustainable urban planning and street tree management.