Disclosed is a system for analysing a canopy of an area of a forest from LiDAR data. The system comprises a processor programmed to analyse a number of LiDAR data point heights to locate a peak that represents a tree top (80, 86). The processor can then quantify a spatial uniformity of LiDAR data point heights within a number of areas surrounding a location of the tree top (80, 86), wherein each area is substantially smaller than an expected size of the crown of the tree. The spatial uniformity is quantified based on variations in the power of harmonics computed from a two-dimensional Fourier Transform of the LiDAR data point heights surrounding the location of the tree top (80, 86). The processor may then estimate a characteristic of the tree from the quantified spatial uniformity by comparing the quantified spatial uniformity to data computed from trees whose characteristics are known.
