Comparing nondestructive measures of forage structure and phytomass

2000 ◽  
Vol 80 (3) ◽  
pp. 565-573 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. E. Olson ◽  
R. T. Wallander ◽  
J. M. Beaver

Nondestructive radiative transfer and canopy volume methods were compared with the destructive hand-clipping method to determine forage structure and phytomass. On a native range site, fifteen 1-m2 circular plots were located at each of five microsites. On a crested wheatgrass site, thirty 1-m2 plots were located in grazed and in ungrazed areas. At peak standing crop, all plots were measured with a LI-COR Plant Canopy Analyzer to determine leaf area index (LAI), diffuse non-intercepted radiation (DNIR), and mean tilt angle (MTA) of leaves. Then, plants within plots were measured with a ruler to determine volume. Finally, all phytomass within plots was harvested. At the native range site, plant volume was related with LAI and DNIR on four of five microsites. Phytomass was related with LAI and DNIR on two microsites. At the crested wheatgrass site, volume and phytomass were related with LAI, DNIR, and MTA on grazed plots. Only phytomass was related with LAI and DNIR on ungrazed plots. The Plant Canopy Analyzer measures canopy structure and phytomass; it is fast, and its data are transferred directly to a computer. Measuring plant volume is inexpensive and requires minimal training. Determining phytomass by clipping is accurate and requires minimal training, but it is time-consuming and destructive. Key words: Leaf area, canopy, volume, phytomass, radiative transfer

1976 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 35 ◽  
Author(s):  
KS Fischer ◽  
GL Wilson

Grain sorghum was grown at two population densities in the field, and photosynthetic rates compared at noon. Profiles of photosynthesis were established by combining measurements of 12CO2 exchange and 14CO2 uptake. Canopy structure and light penetration were measured. Factors responsible for the superiority of the higher density population were evaluated. Photosynthesis–radiation responses of leaves were similar between the populations and there was little difference in total light interception. The high density population had leaves which were more vertically displayed, more uniformly dispersed, smaller in both length and width, and distributed over a greater height of canopy. Light was therefore more uniformly distributed down the profile, and coefficients of light extinction were lower. Associated with this was a higher leaf area index. The overall consequence was the distribution of intercepted radiation over a larger leaf surface, at a lower illuminance and therefore a higher efficiency of photosynthetic conversion, resulting in greater total photosynthesis. ___________________ ** Part V, Aust. J. Agric. Res., 26: 31 (1975).


2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 191-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.P. Lena ◽  
M.V. Folegatti ◽  
J.P. Francisco ◽  
O.N.A. Santos ◽  
I.P.S. Andrade

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Tiangang Yin ◽  
Jianbo Qi ◽  
Bruce D. Cook ◽  
Douglas C. Morton ◽  
Shanshan Wei ◽  
...  

Airborne lidar point clouds of vegetation capture the 3-D distribution of its scattering elements, including leaves, branches, and ground features. Assessing the contribution from vegetation to the lidar point clouds requires an understanding of the physical interactions between the emitted laser pulses and their targets. Most of the current methods to estimate the gap probability ( P gap ) or leaf area index (LAI) from small-footprint airborne laser scan (ALS) point clouds rely on either point-number-based (PNB) or intensity-based (IB) approaches, with additional empirical correlations with field measurements. However, site-specific parameterizations can limit the application of certain methods to other landscapes. The universality evaluation of these methods requires a physically based radiative transfer model that accounts for various lidar instrument specifications and environmental conditions. We conducted an extensive study to compare these approaches for various 3-D forest scenes using a point-cloud simulator developed for the latest version of the discrete anisotropic radiative transfer (DART) model. We investigated a range of variables for possible lidar point intensity, including radiometric quantities derived from Gaussian Decomposition (GD), such as the peak amplitude, standard deviation, integral of Gaussian profiles, and reflectance. The results disclosed that the PNB methods fail to capture the exact P gap as footprint size increases. By contrast, we verified that physical methods using lidar point intensity defined by either the distance-weighted integral of Gaussian profiles or reflectance can estimate P gap and LAI with higher accuracy and reliability. Additionally, the removal of certain additional empirical correlation coefficients is feasible. Routine use of small-footprint point-cloud radiometric measures to estimate P gap and the LAI potentially confirms a departure from previous empirical studies, but this depends on additional parameters from lidar instrument vendors.


2000 ◽  
Vol 30 (8) ◽  
pp. 1231-1245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Van Pelt ◽  
Jerry F Franklin

The effect of the spatial distribution of trees and foliage on understory conditions was examined in six tall old-growth forests along the Pacific Coast: two sites each in Washington, Oregon, and California. Detailed field measurements of crown parameters were collected on over 9000 trees encompassing over 14.5 ha in the stands. Crown parameters were used to construct a spatially explicit model useful in analyzing the variability of crown distributions in both vertical and horizontal dimensions. Sapwood measurements of over 400 trees in combination with published equations and 240 hemispherical photos were used to assess leaf area and understory light levels, respectively. Shrub and herb cover was used as a biological indicator of growing conditions in the understory. Although leaf area is often assumed to be correlated with the amount of light penetrating the canopy, this is not the case in tall, old-growth forests. The semivariance of the horizontal distribution of canopy volume was strongly correlated with shrub cover and understory light levels and was an overall predictor of canopy structure. This variability gives rise to potentially higher understory light levels and shrub cover values when compared with a forest lacking this vertical heterogeneity and may allow the stand to support a higher volume of foliage.


1994 ◽  
Vol 14 (7-8-9) ◽  
pp. 981-995 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Stenberg ◽  
S. Linder ◽  
H. Smolander ◽  
J. Flower-Ellis

1998 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 334-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
H.C. RIKHARI ◽  
L.M.S. PALNI ◽  
S. SHARMA ◽  
S.K. NANDI

Taxus baccata L. subsp. wallichiana (Zucc.) Pilger has come into prominence in recent times due to its uncontrolled harvesting from the Himalayan wilds for the extraction of the anti-cancer drug Taxol. It is a very slow growing tree with poor regeneration, and the extent of canopy damage is likely to have serious consequences on biomass yield, plant survival and natural regeneration by affecting 'seed' output. The present study in the Jageshwar area of the Central Himalaya aimed to determine the stand and canopy structure, microsite characteristics, extent of canopy removal, and regeneration in human-disturbed and undisturbed sites. The number of trees, saplings and seedlings varied amongst plots. Leaf area index and canopy volume increased with increasing circumference at breast height. Of the total canopy volume, 57.4% was found to have been removed from the study area (9.54 ha; representing about 8% of the total T. baccata habitat). Regeneration of the species was found to be better in moist and shady microsites at undisturbed locations than in disturbed sites. Efforts made thus far for its conservation, and future strategies are discussed.


OENO One ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 1093-1103
Author(s):  
Jingyun Ouyang ◽  
Roberta De Bei ◽  
Sigfredo Fuentes ◽  
Cassandra Collins

Aim: To analyse unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based imagery to assess canopy structural changes after the application of different canopy management practices in the vineyard.Methods and results: Four different canopy management practices: i–ii) leaf removal within the bunch zone (eastern side/both eastern and western sides), iii) bunch thinning and iv) shoot trimming were applied to grapevines at veraison, in a commercial Cabernet-Sauvignon vineyard in McLaren Vale, South Australia. UAV-based imagery captures were taken: i) before the canopy treatments, ii) after the treatments and iii) at harvest to assess the treatment outcomes. Canopy volume, projected canopy area and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) were derived from the analysis of RGB and multispectral imagery collected using the UAV. Plant area index (PAI) was calculated using the smartphone app VitiCanopy as a ground-based measurement for comparison with UAV-derived measurements. Results showed that all three types of UAV-based measurements detected changes in the canopy structure after the application of canopy management practices, except for the bunch thinning treatment. As expected, ground-based PAI was the only technique to effectively detect internal canopy structure changes caused by bunch thinning. Canopy volume and PAI were found to better detect variations in canopy structure compared to NDVI and projected canopy area. The latter were negatively affected by the interference of the trimmed shoots left on the ground.Conclusions: UAV-based tools can provide accurate assessments to some canopy management outcomes at the vineyard scale. Among different UAV-based measurements, canopy volume was more sensitive to changes in canopy structure, compared to NDVI and projected canopy area, and demonstrated a greater potential to assess the outcomes of a range of canopy management practices.  Significance and impact of the study: Canopy management practices are widely applied to regulate canopy growth, improve grape quality and reduce disease pressure in the bunch zone. Being able to detect major changes in canopy structure, with some limitations when the practice affects the internal structure (i.e., bunch thinning), UAV-based imagery analysis can be used to measure the outcome of common canopy management practices and it can improve the efficiency of vineyard management.  


2003 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 425-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Cândido Xavier ◽  
Carlos Alberto Vettorazzi

Leaf Area Index (LAI), an important structural variable descriptive of vegetation, is directly related to evapotranspiration and productivity. The objective of this work was to measure and analyze monthly LAI of different ground covers in a subtropical watershed. A field campaign to collect monthly LAI data was carried out during the year 2001, with a LAI-2000 (plant canopy analyzer) device, in sugarcane, pasture, corn, eucalypt, and riparian forest patches. Riparian forest presented a maximum LAI of 4.90; LAI values decreased as precipitation decreased, as it is a characteristic of this type of semideciduous vegetation. LAI for sugar cane presented the greatest variability throughout the year, related to plant characteristics and crop management in the study area. Results represent an initial step for the understanding of LAI dynamics in the study area and areas under similar conditions.


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