Jan 04, Kathmandu- For the first time, Himalayan forests have been measured in Kaski and Mustang using the cutting-edge technology Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar).

A team led by Kishore Prasad Bhatta, who is pursuing a PhD in forestry at the University of Göttingen in Germany, recently measured Himalayan forests in Kaski and Mustang using Lidar technology.

Trees are measured in plots in forest areas using 'mobile laser scanning' under Lidar technology. Bhatta informed that trees have been measured in 90 plots in two districts. According to him, nearly 6,500 trees have been measured in 90 plots in Kaski and Mustang.

"With this technology, it takes a maximum of 10 minutes to measure trees in a 500 square meter plot of forest area. If you hold the device and move it around the plot in a circle, you can measure all the trees within the plot in a short time," Bhatta said. "Using this technology, we have measured the Himalayan forest located at 3,600 to 4,100 meters."

According to Bhatta, this technology can be used to measure forests in a short period of time and obtain statistics. Bhatta informed that this technology is very useful in a country with geographical complexity like Nepal and forest measurement is also economically affordable.

Bhatta said that the forest survey was completed with technical and financial support from the University of Göttingen, Rufford Grant UK, and on-site support from the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation and the Annapurna Conservation Area Project.

Forest measurement is considered essential for the assessment of forest resources, sustainable forest management, conservation of biodiversity and scientific research. Himalayan forests, which cover about 30 percent of the Himalayan region of Nepal, are more sensitive to climate change.

The Forest Research and Training Center under the Ministry of Forest and Environment has been measuring forests for the past few years using cutting-edge technologies such as GIS mapping, terrestrial laser scanning, etc.