Simulating the impacts of vegetation structure on the occurrence of a small mammalian carnivore in semi-arid savanna rangelands

2007 ◽  
Vol 209 (2-4) ◽  
pp. 136-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Popp ◽  
Monika Schwager ◽  
Niels Blaum ◽  
Florian Jeltsch
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation Structure ◽  
Semi Arid

scholarly journals Large herbivores may alter vegetation structure of semi-arid savannas through soil nutrient mediation

Oecologia ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 165 (4) ◽  
pp. 1095-1107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cornelis van der Waal ◽  
Ada Kool ◽  
Seline S. Meijer ◽  
Edward Kohi ◽  
Ignas M. A. Heitkönig ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation Structure ◽  
Soil Nutrient ◽  
Large Herbivores ◽  
Semi Arid

scholarly journals Complexity and Dynamics of Semi-Arid Vegetation Structure, Function and Diversity Across Spatial Scales from Full Waveform Lidar

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ginikanda Yapa Mudiyanselage Nayani Thanuja Ilangakoon
Keyword(s):  
Structure Function ◽  
Functional Diversity ◽  
Vegetation Structure ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Airborne Lidar ◽  
Arid Ecosystems ◽  
Full Waveform ◽  
Waveform Lidar ◽  
Full Waveform Lidar ◽  
Semi Arid

Semi-arid ecosystems cover approximately 40% of the earth's terrestrial landscape and show high dynamicity in ecosystem structure and function. These ecosystems play a critical role in global carbon dynamics, productivity, and habitat quality. Semi-arid ecosystems experience a high degree of disturbance that can severely alter ecosystem services and processes. Understanding the structure-function relationships across spatial extents are critical in order to assess their demography, response to disturbance, and for conservation management. In this research, using state-of-the-art full waveform lidar (airborne and spaceborne) and field observations, I developed a framework to assess the complexity and dynamics of vegetation structure, function and diversity across spatial scales in a semi-arid ecosystem. Difficulty in differentiating low stature vegetation from bare ground is the key remote sensing challenge in semi-arid ecosystems. In this study, I developed a workflow to differentiate key plant functional types (PFTs) using both structural and biophysical variables derived from the full waveform lidar and an ensemble random forest technique. The results revealed that waveform lidar pulse width can clearly distinguish shrubs from bare ground. The models showed PFT classification accuracy of 0.81-0.86% and 0.60-0.70% at 10 m and 1 m spatial resolutions, respectively. I found that structural variables were more important than the biophysical variables to differentiate the PFTs in this study area. The study further revealed an overlap between the structural features of different PFTs (e.g. shrubs from trees). Using structural features, I derived three main functional traits (canopy height, plant area index and foliage height diversity) of shrubs and trees that describe canopy architecture and light use efficiency of the ecosystem. I evaluated the trends and patterns of functional diversity and their relationship with non-climatic abiotic factors and fire disturbance. In addition to the fine resolution airborne lidar, I used simulated large footprint spaceborne lidar representing the newly launched Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation system (GEDI, a lidar sensor on the International Space Station) to evaluate the potential of capturing functional diversity trends of semi-arid ecosystems at global scales. The consistency of diversity trends between the airborne lidar and GEDI confirmed GEDI's potential to capture functional diversity. I found that the functional diversity in this ecosystem is mainly governed by the local elevation gradient, soil type, and slope. All three functional diversity indices (functional richness, functional evenness and functional divergence) showed a diversity breakpoint near elevations of 1500 m - 1700 m. Functional diversity of fire-disturbed areas revealed that the fires in our study area resulted in a more even and less divergent ecosystem state. Finally, I quantified aboveground biomass using the structural features derived from both the airborne lidar and GEDI data. Regional estimates of biomass can indicate whether an ecosystem is a net carbon sink or source as well as the ecosystem's health (e.g. biodiversity). Further, the potential of large footprint lidar data to estimate biomass in semi-arid ecosystems are not yet fully explored due to the inherent overlapping vegetation responses in the ground signals that can be affected by the ground slope. With a correction to the slope effect, I found that large footprint lidar can explain 42% of variance of biomass with a RMSE of 351 kg/ha (16% RMSE). The model estimated 82% of the study area with less than 50% uncertainty in biomass estimates. The cultivated areas and the areas with high functional richness showed the highest uncertainties. Overall, this dissertation establishes a novel framework to assess the complexity and dynamics of vegetation structure and function of a semi-arid ecosystem from space. This work enhances our understanding of the present state of an ecosystem and provides a foundation for using full waveform lidar to understand the impact of these changes to ecosystem productivity, biodiversity and habitat quality in the coming decades. The methods and algorithms in this dissertation can be directly applied to similar ecosystems with relevant corrections for the appropriate sensor. In addition, this study provides insights to related NASA missions such as ICESat-2 and future NASA missions such as NISAR for deriving vegetation structure and dynamics related to disturbance.

Modelling trends in woody vegetation structure in semi-arid Australia as determined from aerial photography

2003 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 421-436 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roderick John Fensham ◽  
Sama J. Low Choy ◽  
Russell James Fairfax ◽  
Paul C. Cavallaro
Keyword(s):  
Aerial Photography ◽  
Vegetation Structure ◽  
Woody Vegetation ◽  
Semi Arid

Edge-interior differences in vegetation structure and composition in a Chaco semi-arid forest, Argentina

1995 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javier Lopez de Casenave ◽  
Juan Pablo Pelotto ◽  
Jorge Protomastro
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation Structure ◽  
Semi Arid

Relationships between fire history, edaphic factors and woody vegetation structure and composition in a semi-arid savanna landscape (Niger, West Africa)

2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 488-500 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdoulaye Diouf ◽  
Nicolas Barbier ◽  
Anne Mette Lykke ◽  
Pierre Couteron ◽  
Vincent Deblauwe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Vegetation Structure ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Woody Vegetation ◽  
Edaphic Factors ◽  
Semi Arid
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