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R package for Airborne LiDAR Data Manipulation and Visualization for Forestry Applications

The lidR package provides functions to read and write .las and .laz files, plot a point cloud, compute metrics using an area-based approach, compute digital canopy models, thin lidar data, manage a catalog of datasets, automatically extract ground inventories, process a set of tiles in multicore, individual tree segmentation, classify data from geographic data, and provides other tools to manipulate LiDAR data.

Development of the lidR package between 2015 and 2017 was made possible thanks to the financial support of the AWARE project; grantee Prof Nicholas Coops.

Please contact the author for bug reports or feature requests (on github, preferably). I enjoy implementing new features!

Features
Install lidR
Some examples
Changelog

Features (not exhaustive)

Install `lidR`

The latest released version from CRAN with

install.packages("lidR")

The latest development version from github with

devtools::install_github("Jean-Romain/rlas", dependencies=TRUE)
devtools::install_github("Jean-Romain/lidR", dependencies=TRUE)

To install the package from github make sure you have a working development environment.

Windows: Install Rtools.exe.
Mac: Install Xcode from the Mac App Store.
Linux: Install the R development package, usually called r-devel or r-base-dev

Some examples

Changelog

See changelogs on NEW.md

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Version

Install

install.packages('lidR')

Monthly Downloads

4,376

Version

1.3.1

License

GPL-3

Issues

Pull Requests

Stars

Forks

Repository

https://github.com/Jean-Romain/lidR

Maintainer

Jean-Romain Roussel

Last Published

June 2nd, 2025

Functions in lidR (1.3.1)

Create a LASheader object

Vertical Complexity Index

LAScatalog-class

An S4 class to represent a set of a .las or .laz files

LASheader-class

An S4 class to represent the header read in a .las or .laz file

catalog_options

Options Settings for the catalog tools

Return points with matching conditions

Predefined filters

plot.lasmetrics

Plot an object of class lasmetrics in 2D

plot.lasmetrics3d

Plot voxelized LiDAR data

catalog_queries

Extract LiDAR data based on a set of coordinates

Classify LiDAR points from source data

Clip LiDAR points

Retrieve individual flightlines

Classify points as ground or not ground

Surface covered by a LAS object or by a LAScatalog.

Set the class 'lasmetrics' to a data.frame or a data.table

catalog_reshape

Reshape (retile) a catalog

Select LAS files interactively

Plot LiDAR data

Compute metrics for each tree

Write a las or laz file

gap_fraction_profile

Gap fraction profile

Canopy surface model

Retrieve individual pulses

Leaf area density

-,LAS,RasterLayer-method

Convenient operator to lasnormalize

as.raster.lasmetrics

Transform a lasmetrics object into a spatial RasterLayer object

Transform a lidR object into sp object

Build a catalog of las tiles/files

Select a region of interest interactively

plot.LAScatalog

Plot a LAScatalog object

plot.lashexametrics

Plot an object of class lashexametrics in 2D

Map the pulse or point density

grid_hexametrics

Compute metrics for hexagonal cells

Compute the color from RGB fields

Thin LiDAR data

Options Settings for the lidR package

Plot a wireframe of a RasterLayer or a lasmetrics object

Read .las or .laz files

Apply a user-defined function to an entire catalog in a continuous way

Digital Terrain Model

Canopy height model based on a triangulation.

Retrieve individual scanline

Individual tree segmentation

lidR-deprecated

Deprecated function(s) in the lidR package

Predefined standard metrics functions

LiDAR data summary

An S4 class to represent the data read in a .las or .laz file

Create a LAS object

Normalized Shannon diversity index

extent,LAS-method

Rasterize the space and compute metrics for each cell

Voxelize the space and compute metrics for each voxel

Compute metrics for a cloud of points

Subtract digital terrain model

Rumple index of roughness

Automatic colorization