Haijian Liu – PhD student

Research Interests: I’m interested in detecting tree species based on discrete LiDAR points alone and the fusion of LiDAR data and Hyperspectral data. By filtering the raw LiDAR data, a smoother image can be created. Then the location of each tree can be determined based on crown’s characteristics and the general tree species can be automatically identified. Hyperspectral data includes more spectral information comparing multiple spectral data and LiDAR data. The fusion of LiDAR data and Hyperspectral data has benefits in identifying specific species. My research focuses on classifying vegetation in urban area and identifying ash trees in Milwaukee. Ash trees account for a large proportion of forests in Wisconsin, but they are at the risk of being attacked by invading beetles so detecting ash trees is critical in developing forest protection plans.