Modeling radar backscattering of complex terrain at the landscape scale for retrieving forest structure parameters

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenjian Ni ◽  
Guoqing Sun ◽  
Zhiyu Zhang ◽  
Haoyang Yu
Keyword(s):  
Forest Structure ◽  
Complex Terrain ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Structure Parameters ◽  
Radar Backscattering

Landscape-scale effects of fire severity on mixed-conifer and red fir forest structure in Yosemite National Park

2013 ◽  
Vol 287 ◽  
pp. 17-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Van R. Kane ◽  
James A. Lutz ◽  
Susan L. Roberts ◽  
Douglas F. Smith ◽  
Robert J. McGaughey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Forest Structure ◽  
National Park ◽  
Scale Effects ◽  
Fire Severity ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Yosemite National Park ◽  
Mixed Conifer

The shrinkage of a forest: Landscape-scale deforestation leading to overall changes in local forest structure

2016 ◽  
Vol 196 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larissa Rocha-Santos ◽  
Michaele S. Pessoa ◽  
Camila R. Cassano ◽  
Daniela C. Talora ◽  
Rodrigo L.L. Orihuela ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Forest Structure ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Forest Landscape

scholarly journals Estimation and Mapping of Forest Structure Parameters from Open Access Satellite Images: Development of a Generic Method with a Study Case on Coniferous Plantation

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1275 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Morin ◽  
Milena Planells ◽  
Dominique Guyon ◽  
Ludovic Villard ◽  
Stéphane Mermoz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Feature Selection ◽  
Open Access ◽  
Forest Structure ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Machine Learning Techniques ◽  
Structure Parameters ◽  
Alos Palsar ◽  
Open Access Data ◽  
Coniferous Plantation ◽  
Access Data

Temperate forests are under climatic and economic pressures. Public bodies, NGOs and the wood industry are looking for accurate, current and affordable data driven solutions to intensify wood production while maintaining or improving long term sustainability of the production, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration. Free tools and open access data have already been exploited to produce accurate quantitative forest parameters maps suitable for policy and operational purposes. These efforts have relied on different data sources, tools, and methods that are tailored for specific forest types and climatic conditions. We hypothesized we could build on these efforts in order to produce a generic method suitable to perform as well or better in a larger range of settings. In this study we focus on building a generic approach to create forest parameters maps and confirm its performance on a test site: a maritime pine (Pinus pinaster) forest located in south west of France. We investigated and assessed options related with the integration of multiple data sources (SAR L- and C-band, optical indexes and spatial texture indexes from Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2 and ALOS-PALSAR-2), feature extraction, feature selection and machine learning techniques. On our test case, we found that the combination of multiple open access data sources has synergistic benefits on the forest parameters estimates. The sensibility analysis shows that all the data participate to the improvements, that reach up to 13.7% when compared to single source estimates. Accuracy of the estimates is as follows: aboveground biomass (AGB) 28% relative RMSE, basal area (BA) 27%, diameter at breast height (DBH) 20%, age 17%, tree density 24%, and height 13%. Forward feature selection and SVR provided the best estimates. Future work will focus on validating this generic approach in different settings. It may prove beneficial to package the method, the tools, and the integration of open access data in order to make spatially accurate and regularly updated forest structure parameters maps effortlessly available to national bodies and forest organizations.

scholarly journals Simulating spatial complexity in dry conifer forest restoration: implications for conservation prioritization and scenario evaluation

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (10) ◽  
pp. 2301-2319
Author(s):  
Jeffery B. Cannon ◽  
Benjamin M. Gannon ◽  
Jonas A. Feinstein ◽  
Eunice A. Padley ◽  
Loretta J. Metz
Keyword(s):  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Forest Structure ◽  
Forest Restoration ◽  
Structural Heterogeneity ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Ecological Effects ◽  
Dry Forest ◽  
Spatial Complexity ◽  
Fuels Reduction ◽  
Forest Structural Heterogeneity

Abstract Context Several initiatives seek to increase the pace and scale of dry forest restoration and fuels reduction to enhance forest resilience to wildfire and other stressors while improving the quality and reliability of key ecosystem services. Ecological effects models are increasingly used to prioritize these efforts at the landscape-scale based on simulated treatment outcomes. Objectives Treatments are often simulated using uniform post-treatment target conditions or proportional changes to baseline forest structure variables, but do not account for the common objective of restoration to mimic the complex forest structure that was present historically which is thought to provide an example of structural conditions that contributed to ecosystem diversity and resilience. Methods We simulate spatially homogenous fire hazard reduction treatments along with heterogeneous restoration treatments in dry conifer forests to investigate how spatial complexity affects ecological indicators of (1) forest structural heterogeneity, (2) forest and watershed vulnerability to high-severity fire, and (3) feasibility of future prescribed fire use. Results Our results suggest that spatially explicit restoration treatments should produce similar wildfire and prescribed fire outcomes as homogeneous fuels reduction treatments, but with greater forest structural heterogeneity. The lack of strong tradeoffs between ecological objectives suggests the primary benefit of spatially complex treatments is to increase forest structural heterogeneity which may promote biodiversity. Conclusions We show that landscape-scale prioritization to maximize ecological benefits can change when spatially complex restoration treatments are modeled. Coupling landscape-scale management simulations and ecological effects models offers flexible decision support for conservation assessment, prioritization, and planning.

scholarly journals Landscape-scale changes in forest structure and functional traits along an Andes-to-Amazon elevation gradient

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 15415-15454 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. P. Asner ◽  
C. Anderson ◽  
R. E. Martin ◽  
D. E. Knapp ◽  
R. Tupayachi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Traits ◽  
Forest Structure ◽  
Structural Information ◽  
Plant Cover ◽  
Elevation Gradient ◽  
Imaging Spectroscopy ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Elevation Gradients ◽  
Peruvian Andes ◽  
Environmental Controls

Abstract. Elevation gradients provide opportunities to explore environmental controls on forest structure and functioning, but plot-based studies have proven highly variable due to limited geographic scope. We used airborne imaging spectroscopy and LiDAR (light detection and ranging) to quantify changes in three-dimensional forest structure and canopy functional traits in a series of 25 ha landscapes distributed along a 3300 m elevation gradient from lowland Amazonia to treeline in the Peruvian Andes. Canopy greenness, photosynthetic fractional cover and exposed non-photosynthetic vegetation varied as much across lowland forests (100–200 m) as they did from the lowlands to the Andean treeline (3400 m). Elevation was positively correlated with canopy gap density and understory vegetation cover, and negatively related to canopy height and vertical profile. Increases in gap density were tightly linked to increases in understory plant cover, and larger gaps (20–200 m2 produced 25–30 times the response in understory cover than did smaller gaps (< 5 m2. Scaling of gap size to gap frequency was, however, relatively constant along the elevation gradient, which when combined with other canopy structural information, indicates equilibrium turnover patterns from the lowlands to treeline. Our results provide a first landscape-scale quantification of forest structure and canopy functional traits with changing elevation, thereby improving our understanding of disturbance, demography and ecosystem processes in the Andes-to-Amazon corridor.

Tracking tree mortality across sites with repeat LiDAR data

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toby Jackson ◽  
Matheus Nunes ◽  
Grégoire Vincent ◽  
David Coomes
Keyword(s):  
Forest Structure ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Mortality Rates ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Airborne Lidar ◽  
Lidar Data ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Large Tree ◽  
Airborne Lidar Data ◽  
Field Plots

&lt;p&gt;Repeat airborne LiDAR data provides a unique opportunity to study tree mortality at the landscape scale. We use maps of canopy height derived from repeat LiDAR (two or more scans collected a few years apart) to detect changes in forest structure. Visually, the most obvious changes are caused by large treefall events, which are difficult to study using field plots due to their rarity. While repeat LiDAR data provides exciting new possibilities, validation is a challenge, since we cannot easily determine how many trees have died and we may miss trees which are dead but still standing. I will discuss our progress so far, studying large-tree mortality rates across multiple countries and forest types.&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Historical and current landscape-scale ponderosa pine and mixed conifer forest structure in the Southern Sierra Nevada

Ecosphere ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. art79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott L. Stephens ◽  
Jamie M. Lydersen ◽  
Brandon M. Collins ◽  
Danny L. Fry ◽  
Marc D. Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Forest Structure ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Conifer Forest ◽  
Mixed Conifer ◽  
Mixed Conifer Forest

Comparisons of meteorological structure parameters in complex terrain using optical and acoustical techniques

1988 ◽  
Vol 27 (11) ◽  
pp. 2222
Author(s):  
William M. Porch ◽  
William D. Neff ◽  
Clark W. King
Keyword(s):  
Complex Terrain ◽  
Structure Parameters

scholarly journals Airborne lidar-based estimates of tropical forest structure in complex terrain: opportunities and trade-offs for REDD+

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronika Leitold ◽  
Michael Keller ◽  
Douglas C Morton ◽  
Bruce D Cook ◽  
Yosio E Shimabukuro
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Forest ◽  
Forest Structure ◽  
Complex Terrain ◽  
Airborne Lidar ◽  
Trade Offs
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document