A new study published in Environmental Research Letters uses NASA’s GEDI spaceborne lidar observations to investigate forest recovery and structural diversity in the humid tropical forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The study includes among its authors David Roy and Chris Hakkenberg, members of the GEDI Science Team, and provides the first assessment of changes in forest structural diversity in regrowing humid tropical forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). By capturing three-dimensional information from space, GEDI provides a unique perspective on forest canopy structure. In this study, the foliage height diversity (FHD) product is validated as an efficient tool for capturing forest structural diversity, particularly when stringently filtered for potential geolocation and canopy penetration issues in tropical forests.

The findings were recently featured in The Times of India, which highlighted the role of GEDI observations in revealing the hidden structural changes that distinguish recovering forests from undisturbed forests.

Access the full publication:
Kashongwe, H.B., Roy, D.P., Cho, M.S., Hakkenberg, C.R., and Bwangoy, J.R.
GEDI observations of foliar height diversity track regrowth trends in the humid tropical forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo
Environmental Research Letters, Volume 21, Number 14.