Active Contour Models for Extracting Ground and Forest Canopy Curves from Discrete Laser Altimeter Data

The importance of finding efficient ways of quantifying terrestrial carbon stocks at a global scale has increased due to the concerns about global climate change. Exchange of carbon between forests and the atmosphere is a vital component of the global carbon cycle (Nelson et al. 2003). Recent advances in remote sensing technology have facilitated rapid and inexpensive measurements of topography over large areas (Zhang et al. 2003).