This dataset is comprised of raw and proceesed data from the NERC-funded, full waveform terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) deployed on a plot site situated in the Danum Valley Conservation Area. Danum Valley Conservation Area is a 438 square kilometres (169 sq mi) tract of relatively undisturbed lowland dipterocarp forest in Sabah, Malaysia. It has an extensive diversity of tropical flora and fauna.

There were no human settlements within the area before it became a conservation area, meaning that hunting, logging and other human interference were non-existent, making the area almost unique. It is managed by Yayasan Sabah for conservation, research, education, and habitat restoration training purposes.

The aim of the weighing trees with lasers project is to test if current allometric relationships are invariant across continents, or whether they differ significantly, and require continental level models; quantify the impact of assumptions of tree shape and wood density on tropical forest allometry; test hypotheses relating to pan-tropical differences in observed AGB (Above Ground Biomass) from satellite and field data. It also aims to apply new knowledge to assessing retrieval accuracy of forthcoming ESA BIOMASS and NASA GEDI (Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation Lidar) missions and providing calibration datasets; In addition to testing the capability of low-cost instruments to augment TLS data including: UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicle) for mapping cover and canopy height; low-cost lidar instruments to assess biomass rapidly, at lower accuracy.