Vegetation penetration and DEMs with DJI Zenmuse L2

Published on 16 Jun 2025

Vegetation penetration and DEMs with DJI Zenmuse L2

Drone LiDAR profiles show how the DJI Zenmuse L2 effectively penetrates dense vegetation to collect data below the tree canopy, including ground points for DEMs.

These profiles demonstrate how the DJI Zenmuse L2 penetrates dense vegetation to capture data below the tree canopy, including ground points to create Digital Elevation Models (DEMs)
RGB profile - DJI Zenmuse L2.
Height L2

The collection of images also show the payload's ability to create robust true-colour point clouds...

True-clour LiDAR point cloud.
RGB true-colour point cloud.
...as well as provide information such as height and return LiDAR data - as displayed via DJI Terra.
Height data - L2.
Returns data - L2.

Our survey specialists teamed up with Forestry England to collect the data at Kielder Forest in Northumberland.

Heliguy and Scottish Forestry.

We are testing a workflow combining L2 data with Esri software to extract detailed information on individual trees. More details to follow.

The 15-minute mission was conducted with the following parameters:

• 60m altitude. • 5m/s ortho flight. • Repetitive scanning. • Penta return. • 1.5m GSD.

DJI Zenmuse L2.

LiDAR technology is an effective tool for penetrating dense vegetation. It uses laser pulses that pass through gaps in the canopy, allowing it to accurately collect data from the ground surface and underlying terrain.

This capability enables the generation of detailed DEMs, revealing ground features and structures that are typically obscured by thick forest cover.

As these screengrabs demonstrate, the L2 can be a useful tool for applications that require data in vegetated areas, such as forest management, ecological mapping, and archeological surveys, among others.

The L2, which comprises a LiDAR module and RGB sensor, is compatible with the new DJI M400, as well as the M350/M300 RTK.