This dataset contains field and laboratory data on forest canopy structure and spectral properties of canopy elements and forest floor in four study sites located in boreal, hemiboreal, and temperate forests in Finland, Estonia, and the Czech Republic. The data collection and preprocessing have been described in detail in **Rautiainen et al. (2024). A spectral-structural characterization of European temperate, hemiboreal and boreal forests**. See a technical README document provided together with the data for details on the contents and formats of the data files. **Citation:** When using the data, please cite - Rautiainen, M., Hovi, A., Schraik, D., Hanuš, J., Lukeš, P., Lhotáková, Z., & Homolová, L. (2024). A spectral-structural characterization of European temperate, hemiboreal and boreal forests. More information on the article from the authors. - Hovi, A., Schraik, D., Hanuš, J., Lukeš, P., Lhotáková, Z., Homolová, L., & Rautiainen, M. A spectral-structural characterization of European temperate, hemiboreal and boreal forests: Laboratory and field data. Aalto University. https://doi.org/10.23729/9a8d90cd-73e2-438d-9230-94e10e61adc9 An accompanying dataset, comprising airborne hyperspectral and laser scanning data from the same study sites, is available at [https://doi.org/10.23729/c6da63dd-f527-4ec9-8401-57c14f77d19f](https://doi.org/10.23729/c6da63dd-f527-4ec9-8401-57c14f77d19f).

2024