{"id":4790,"date":"2026-03-28T06:19:41","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T06:19:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/?p=4790"},"modified":"2026-03-28T07:21:04","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T07:21:04","slug":"mapping-the-vegetation-and-spatial-dynamics-of-sinharaja-tropical-rainforest-incorporating-nasas-gedi-spaceborne-lidar-data-andmultispectral-satellite-images","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/2026\/03\/28\/mapping-the-vegetation-and-spatial-dynamics-of-sinharaja-tropical-rainforest-incorporating-nasas-gedi-spaceborne-lidar-data-andmultispectral-satellite-images\/","title":{"rendered":"Mapping the vegetation and spatial dynamics of Sinharaja tropical rainforest incorporating NASA\u2019s GEDI spaceborne LiDAR data and multispectral satellite images"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Published in: iForest<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>DOI:<a href=\"http:\/\/www.sisef.it\/iforest\/contents\/?id=ifor4632-017\"> http:\/\/www.sisef.it\/iforest\/contents\/?id=ifor4632-017<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This study integrates NASA\u2019s Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) spaceborne LiDAR data with multispectral satellite imagery to map the vegetation and assess spatial dynamics within the Sinharaja Forest Reserve (SFR), located in the southwestern Sri Lanka. Utilizing advanced remote sensing techniques, we delineated vegetation structure, vegetation density distribution, and canopy cover at high spatial resolutions. Eight distinct vegetation\/land cover types were identified and an updated vegetation map was developed for SFR. The resulted map recorded an estimated overall accuracy of 90% (Kappa coefficient = 0.9) by the accuracy assessment. Comprehensive insights into forest composition and spatial dynamics were achieved with regard to canopy heights, plant area index and plant area volume density. Our results suggest that the integration of GEDI LiDAR and satellite imaging data offers a robust framework for characterizing tropical forest ecosystems, facilitating better understanding of their ecological processes, and informing conservation and management strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-post-featured-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1088\" height=\"667\" src=\"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/03\/Dr-Dulan.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"object-fit:cover;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/03\/Dr-Dulan.jpg 1088w, https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/03\/Dr-Dulan-300x184.jpg 300w, https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/03\/Dr-Dulan-1024x628.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/03\/Dr-Dulan-40x25.jpg 40w, https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/03\/Dr-Dulan-768x471.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1088px) 100vw, 1088px\" data-id=\"4791\" \/><\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Published in: iForest DOI: http:\/\/www.sisef.it\/iforest\/contents\/?id=ifor4632-017 This study integrates NASA\u2019s Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) spaceborne LiDAR data with multispectral satellite imagery to map the vegetation and assess spatial dynamics within &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/2026\/03\/28\/mapping-the-vegetation-and-spatial-dynamics-of-sinharaja-tropical-rainforest-incorporating-nasas-gedi-spaceborne-lidar-data-andmultispectral-satellite-images\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Mapping the vegetation and spatial dynamics of Sinharaja tropical rainforest incorporating NASA\u2019s GEDI spaceborne LiDAR data and multispectral satellite images<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":4791,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_ti_tpc_template_sync":false,"_ti_tpc_template_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4790"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4790"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4790\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4812,"href":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4790\/revisions\/4812"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}