Vega C. auteur aut IRD Vepakomma U. auteur aut IRD Morel J. auteur aut IRD Bader J. L. auteur aut IRD Rajashekar G. auteur aut IRD Jha C. S. auteur aut IRD Feret J. auteur aut IRD Proisy Christophe auteur aut IRD Pélissier Raphaël auteur aut IRD Dadhwal V. K. auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf reformatted digital access Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar) is a state of the art technology to assess forest aboveground biomass (AGB). To date, methods developed to relate Lidar metrics with forest parameters were built upon the vertical component of the data. In multi-layered tropical forests, signal penetration might be restricted, limiting the efficiency of these methods. A potential way for improving AGB models in such forests would be to combine traditional approaches by descriptors of the horizontal canopy structure. We assessed the capability and complementarity of three recently proposed methods for assessing AGB at the plot level using point distributional approach (DM), canopy volume profile approach (CVP), 2D canopy grain approach (FOTO), and further evaluated the potential of a topographical complexity index (TCI) to explain part of the variability of AGB with slope. This research has been conducted in a mountainous wet evergreen tropical forest of Western Ghats in India. AGB biomass models were developed using a best subset regression approach, and model performance was assessed through cross-validation. Results demonstrated that the variability in AGB could be efficiently captured when variables describing both the vertical (DM or CVP) and horizontal (FOTO) structure were combined. Integrating FOTO metrics with those of either DM or CVP decreased the root mean squared error of the models by 4.42% and 6.01%, respectively. These results are of high interest for AGB mapping in the tropics and could significantly contribute to the REDD+ program. Model quality could be further enhanced by improving the robustness of field-based biomass models and influence of topography on area-based Lidar descriptors of the forest structure. specialized INDE 126 082 7 8 10607-10625 2015 2072-4292 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010065281 10.3390/rs70810607 2072-4292 [F B010065281] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010065281 https://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/divers17-09/010065281.pdf IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2015-11-06 2019-04-14 fdi:010065281 fre