Open-Earth-Monitor Global Workshop 2026

The creatures of our world depend on forests - living structures that provide habitat, food, and water. We draw meaning from trees that shape our perspectives about nature. Now, with access to unprecedented technology, we can understand more complex aspects of tree structure - the architectural form - that were previously hidden. Accurately quantifying forest structure is crucial for assessing climate change mitigating strategies and for guiding conservation efforts.

Here, we explore how we use cutting-edge 3D laser mapping from below and above the canopy to understand trees and forest structure around the world. As part of the Global Terrestrial Laser Scanning (GTLS, global-tls.net) Database initiative, we are collecting ultra-high resolution 3D structural data in forests in unprecedented detail - leveraging this rich dataset for updated tree-level scaling, architecture, and biomass. To complement this work, we are looking at the forest canopy from above at a global scale with the NASA / UMD Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) to capture and investigate vertical structural signatures of different forests across the planet.

We are now beginning to understand the dimensions of how a more comprehensive understanding of tree and forest architecture has direct implications for accurate carbon accounting, habitat mapping, and biodiversity conservation. Moving forward we will apply our newly developed 3D tree traits to inform structural characterizations of forests with GEDI, while continuing to fill data gaps by collecting ground-based laser scanning data at new sites around the world.