Leica BLK360 G1 Terrestrial LiDAR Scans from the 2024 Department of Defense Wildland Fire Science Initiative Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield Campaign

To characterize fine-scale variations in vegetation structure, quantify heterogeneity, and capture fuel estimation and consumption, Leica BLK360 G1 terrestrial LiDAR scans were conducted across the E11 and E16 units. This dataset provides the scans collected before (January 2024) and after (February 2024) the prescribed burns.

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field Value
Last Updated July 4, 2025, 09:33 (UTC)
Created July 4, 2025, 09:33 (UTC)
Source https://wfsi-data.org/view/doi%3A10.60594/W43K5F
associated_parties Gregg Chapman, gregg.chapman@usda.gov, USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Clemson, SC, https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6735-9867, contributor | Derek Wallace, derek.wallace@usda.gov, USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Athens, GA, https://orcid.org/0009-0001-2533-4838, contributor | Caio Hamamura, caiohamamura@ufl.edu, University of Florida, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6149-5885, contributor | Inacio Tomaz Bueno, ibueno@unicamp.br, University of Florida, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6662-3396, contributor | Eugenia Kelly Luciano Batista, e.lucianobatista@ufl.edu, University of Florida, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0255-7315, contributor | Gabriel Maximo Da Silva, g.maximodasilva@ufl.edu, University of Florida, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2105-9055, contributor
award Characterizing multiscale feedback between forest structure, fire behavior and effects: integrating measurements and mechanistic modeling for improved understanding of patterns and processes.
creators Eva Louise Loudermilk, louise.loudermilk@usda.gov, USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Athens GA, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8191-8670 | Andrew Hudak, andrew.hudak@usda.gov, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Moscow ID, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7480-1458 | Chad Hoffman, c.hoffman@colostate.edu, Colorado State University, Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship , https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8715-937X | Christie Hawley, christie.m.hawley@usda.gov, USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Athens GA, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9105-2065 | Mary Carlton Murphy, mary.murphy@usda.gov, USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Athens GA, https://orcid.org/0009-0002-2453-9927 | Irenee Payne, irenee.payne@usda.gov, USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Athens GA, https://orcid.org/0009-0000-7490-6954 | Scott Pokswinski, spokswinski@newmexicoconsortium.org, New Mexico Consortium, Center for Applied Fire and Ecosystems Science, Los Alamos NM , https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5753-4132
doi doi:10.60594/W43K5F
encoding utf8
funder U. S. Department of Defense (DoD), Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP), http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100013316
harvest_object_id e3fbb138-6688-449d-8802-78635f3df25f
harvest_source_id a2637971-af12-457f-ae4a-831d2202a539
harvest_source_title WIFIRE Commons
maintainor Christie Hawley, christie.m.hawley@usda.gov
method Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield is in Hinesville, Georgia, approximately 30 miles west of Savannah. For a full study site description, see Loudermilk et al. 2023. In 2024, E11.5 (597 acres, 242 hectares), E16.2 (628 acres, 254 hectares), and E16.3 (636 acres, 257 hectares) were available for prescribed burning. Located in the western half of Fort Stewart, Units E16.2 and E16.3 are bisected by Taylors Creek. E11.5 is just east of E16.3, where numbered dirt road 9A is the west boundary and 4A is the east boundary. E11.5 was burned on February 8, 2024, and E16.2 and E16.3 units were burned together on February 10, 2024. Before the prescribed burns, at each macroplot center, terrestrial LiDAR scans were collected using the Leica BLK360 G1 (Leica Geosystems, Heerbrugg, Switzerland) terrestrial laser scanner as described in Pokswinski et al. 2021 and Murphy et al. 2024. After the prescribed burns, terrestrial LiDAR scans were collected at each macroplot center, except for the BLK scan-only macroplots. All the scans were collected without any monument markers in the scan area. The BLK Data Manager Utility exported the data from the scanner into a proprietary BLK format. The Leica Cyclone Register 360 PLUS (BLK Edition) converted the proprietary BLK file format to the PTX format. Loudermilk, E.L.; Pokswinski, S.; Hawley, C.M.; Maxwell, A.; Gallagher, M.R.; Skowronski, N.S.; Hudak, A.T.; Hoffman, C.; Hiers, J.K. Terrestrial Laser Scan Metrics Predict Surface Vegetation Biomass and Consumption in a Frequently Burned Southeastern U.S. Ecosystem. Fire 2023, 6, 151. https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6040151 Murphy M.C.; Loudermilk E.L.; Pokswinski S.; Williams B.; Link E. Lienesch L.; Douglas L.; Skowronski N.; Gallagher M.; Maxwell A.; Snitker G.; Hawley C.; Wallace D.; Payne I.; Yurkiewecz T.; Sanchez Meador A.J.; Anderson C.; Jackson J.M.; Parsons R.; Floca M.; Nealey I.; Altintas I.; Hiers J.K.; Wallace J. 2024. Terrestrial 3D Laser Scanning for Ecosystem and Fire Effects Monitoring. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-277. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 19 p. https://doi.org/10.2737/SRS-GTR-277. Pokswinski, S.; Gallagher, M.R.; Skowronski, N.S.; Loudermilk, E.L.; Hawley, C.; Wallace, D.; Everland, A.; Wallace, J.; Hiers, J.K. A simplified and affordable approach to forest monitoring using single terrestrial laser scans and transect sampling. MethodsX 2021, 8, 101484. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mex.2021.101484
project Funding Awards RC19-1119 and RC20-1346 for DoD Wildland Fire Science Initiative (WFSI)
spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-81.771737, 31.978517], [-81.848333, 31.978517], [-81.848333, 32.004167], [-81.771737, 32.004167], [-81.771737, 31.978517]]]}
temporal {"endTime": "2024-02-11", "startTime": "2024-01-08"}