ForestScan: a unique multiscale dataset of tropical forest structure across 3 continents including terrestrial, UAV and airborne LiDAR and in-situ forest census data

Chavana-Bryant, Cecilia; Wilkes, Phil; Yang, Wanxin; Burt, Andrew; Vines, Peter; Bennett, Amy C.; Pickavance, Georgia C.; Cooper, Declan L. M.; Lewis, Simon L.; Phillips, Oliver L.; Brede, Benjamin; Lau, Alvaro; Herold, Martin; McNicol, Iain M.; Mitchard, Edward T. A.; Coomes, David A.; Jackson, Toby D.; Makaga, Löic; Milamizokou Napo, Heddy O.; Ngomanda, Alfred; Ntie, Stephan; Medjibe, Vincent; Dimbonda, Pacôme; Soenens, Luna; Daelemans, Virginie; Proux, Laetitia; Nilus, Reuben; Labrière, Nicolas; Jeffery, Kathryn; Burslem, David F. R. P.; Clewley, Dan; Moffat, David; Qie, Lan; Bartholomeus, Harm; Vincent, Gregoire; Barbier, Nicolas; Derroire, Geraldine; Abernethy, Katharine; Scipal, Klaus; Disney, Mathias

doi:10.5194/essd-18-1243-2026

Articles | Volume 18, issue 2

https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-1243-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-1243-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 18, issue 2

Data description article

|

16 Feb 2026

Data description article |

| 16 Feb 2026

ForestScan: a unique multiscale dataset of tropical forest structure across 3 continents including terrestrial, UAV and airborne LiDAR and in-situ forest census data

Cecilia Chavana-Bryant, Phil Wilkes, Wanxin Yang, Andrew Burt, Peter Vines, Amy C. Bennett, Georgia C. Pickavance, Declan L. M. Cooper, Simon L. Lewis, Oliver L. Phillips, Benjamin Brede, Alvaro Lau, Martin Herold, Iain M. McNicol, Edward T. A. Mitchard, David A. Coomes, Toby D. Jackson, Löic Makaga, Heddy O. Milamizokou Napo, Alfred Ngomanda, Stephan Ntie, Vincent Medjibe, Pacôme Dimbonda, Luna Soenens, Virginie Daelemans, Laetitia Proux, Reuben Nilus, Nicolas Labrière, Kathryn Jeffery, David F. R. P. Burslem, Dan Clewley, David Moffat, Lan Qie, Harm Bartholomeus, Gregoire Vincent, Nicolas Barbier, Geraldine Derroire, Katharine Abernethy, Klaus Scipal, and Mathias Disney

Data sets

ForestScan Collection C. Chavana-Bryant et al. https://doi.org/10.5285/88a8620229014e0ebacf0606b302112d

ForestScan Project: Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) of FBRMS-01: Paracou, French Guiana 1ha plot FG5c1, September to October 2022 C. Chavana-Bryant et al. https://doi.org/10.5285/656ac8ee1d42443f9addcbce28c1b137

ForestScan Project: Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) of FBRMS-01: Paracou, French Guiana 1ha plot FG6c2, September to October 2022 C. Chavana-Bryant et al. https://doi.org/10.5285/931973db09af41568853702efe135f29

ForestScan Project: Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) of FBRMS-01: Paracou, French Guiana 1ha plot FG8c4, September to October 2022 C. Chavana-Bryant et al. https://doi.org/10.5285/40f0f38023ac40f6b40bbf96e4dc5258

ForestScan Project : Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) of FBRMS-02: Station d’Etudes des Gorilles et Chimpanzés, Lopé National Park, Gabon 1ha plot LPG-01, June to July 2022 C. Chavana-Bryant et al. https://doi.org/10.5285/8ea2c697ee53430a84825384bfdcf06a

ForestScan Project : Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) of FBRMS-02: Station d’Etudes des Gorilles et Chimpanzés, Lopé National Park, Gabon 1ha plot OKO-01, June to July 2022 C. Chavana-Bryant et al. https://doi.org/10.5285/45ae3437f82f4e4fb75f9a5c26a194ba

ForestScan Project : Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) of FBRMS-02: Station d’Etudes des Gorilles et Chimpanzés, Lopé National Park, Gabon 1ha plot OKO-02, June to July 2022 C. Chavana-Bryant et al. https://doi.org/10.5285/ff4b43475c9641cca1dad2c8be8dadaf

ForestScan Project : Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) of FBRMS-02: Station d’Etudes des Gorilles et Chimpanzés, Lopé National Park, Gabon 1ha plot OKO-03, June to July 2022 C. Chavana-Bryant et al. https://doi.org/10.5285/8ed3ddec76b8470285bdb2ea643f54bc

ForestScan Project : Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) of FBRMS-03: Kabili-Sepilok, Malaysian Borneo 1ha plot SEP-11, March 2017 C. Chavana-Bryant et al. https://doi.org/10.5285/37b039605e9b4bb5a89371fd7f5b7ba1

ForestScan Project : Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) of FBRMS-03: Kabili-Sepilok, Malaysian Borneo 1ha plot SEP-12, March 2017 C. Chavana-Bryant et al. https://doi.org/10.5285/bb81c82352524df99ddd411f6ca2ec81

ForestScan Project: Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) of FBRMS-03: Kabili-Sepilok, Malaysian Borneo 1ha plot SEP-30, March 2017 C. Chavana-Bryant et al. https://doi.org/10.5285/ff217c783e3f4c66a4891d2b5807ee6e

ForestScan: Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) of FBRMS-01: Paracou, French Guiana 1ha plot IRD-CNES (Tropiscat), October 2021 G. Vincent and L. Villard https://doi.org/10.5285/b1cd34f6af7941a3b1429ac52a3f6b28

ForestScan Project: Unpiloted Aerial Vehicle LiDAR Scanning (UAV-LS) and Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) data of FBRMS-01: Paracou, French Guiana plot 6, 10th October to 15th November 2019 B. Brede et al. https://doi.org/10.5285/325a4dde60d142049339e0c84816aac1

ForestScan Project: Multiple Unpiloted Aerial Vehicle LiDAR Scanning (UAV-LS) data acquisitions of FBRMS-01: Paracou, French Guiana, plots 4, 5, 6, 8, IRD-CNES (Tropiscat) and Flux-Tower area, October 2019 N. Barbier and G. Vincent https://doi.org/10.5285/005f2e0aebc24ed98a9772a0ba3798e2

ForestScan project: Unpiloted Aerial Vehicle LiDAR Scanning (UAV-LS) data of FBRMS-02: Station d’Etudes des Gorilles et Chimpanzés, Lopé National Park, Gabon, June 2022 I. M. McNicol, E. T. A. Mitchard, C. Chavana-Bryant, P. Wilkes and M. Disney https://doi.org/10.5285/a79fcb9ab0c443fc86d453cc064759b1

ForestScan: Aerial Laser Scanning (ALS) of FBRMS-01: Paracou, French Guiana, November 2022 G. Vincent https://doi.org/10.5285/7bef89a9dc404683a46642625a024a4b

Aerial LiDAR French Guiana Paracou, November 2019 T. D. Jackson et al. https://doi.org/10.5285/1d554ff41c104491ac3661c6f6f52aab

Aerial LiDAR French Guiana Nouragues, November 2019 T. D. Jackson et al. https://doi.org/10.5285/7bdc5bfc06264802be34f918597150e8

Airborne LiDAR and RGB imagery from Sepilok Reserve and Danum Valley in Malaysia in 2020 D. A. Coomes and T. D. Jackson https://doi.org/10.5285/dd4d20c8626f4b9d99bc14358b1b50fe

ForestScan: Tree census data (diameter and species name) of FBRMS-01: Paracou, French Guiana 1ha plot IRD-CNES (Tropiscat), October 2021 G. Vincent et al. https://doi.org/10.5285/5e78ff91e9cd4143bfa3b7358efd2607

ForestScan: Tree census data for FBRMS-01: Paracou, French Guiana, 1ha plots FG5c1, FG6c2 and FG8c4 G. Derroire et al. https://dataverse.cirad.fr/dataset.xhtml?persistentId=doi:10.18167/DVN1/94XHID

Data package for 'Chavana-Bryant et al., ForestScan: a unique multiscale dataset of tropical forest structure across 3 continents including terrestrial, UAV and airborne LiDAR and in-situ forest census data, ESSD, 2025' C. Chavana-Bryant et al. https://doi.org/10.5521/forestplots.net/2025_2

Short summary

The ForestScan project provides a comprehensive set of datasets of tropical forest 3D structural measurements using terrestrial, unpiloted aerial vehicle and aerial laser scanning, plus tree census data. Collected at three sites in French Guiana, Gabon, and Malaysia, these datasets are crucial for calibrating and validating earth observation-derived forest biomass estimates, therefore, expanding and enhancing their use, and aiding global conservation efforts.