1. A method of processing LiDAR data to identify the species of an item of vegetation, the method comprising: identifying return signals that are associated with the item of vegetation; determining whether the average intensity of the return signals is above a threshold that differentiates between conifer and hardwood species; if the average intensity is at or above the threshold, using a microprocessor to determine that the item of vegetation is a conifer species and selecting a species attribute template that represents data collected from different conifer species; conversely, if the average intensity is below the threshold, using the microprocessor to determine that the item of vegetation is a hardwood species and selecting a species attribute template that represents data collected from different hardwood species; identifying a species from the selected species attribute template with a data attribute that most closely matches the item of vegetation.