Tree Density and Forest Productivity in a Heterogeneous Alpine Environment: Insights from Airborne Laser Scanning and Imaging Spectroscopy
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Area
2.2. Field Data
2.3. Airborne Imaging Spectroscopy Data
2.4. Airborne Laser Scanning Data
3. Methods
3.1. Local Maxima Approach to Estimate Tree Density Using ALS Data
3.2. Spatial Modeling of Forest Productivity Using APEX Data
3.3. Validation
4. Results
4.1. ALS Based Tree Density Estimation
4.2. Spatial Distribution of Tree Density
4.3. Spatial Distribution of Forest Productivity
4.4. Relationship of Tree Density with Forest Productivity
5. Discussion
5.1. Reliability of Tree Density Retrieval
5.2. Reliability of Forest Productivity Retrieval
5.3. Topography Effects on Tree Density and Forest Productivity
6. Conclusions
Acknowledgments
Author Contributions
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Parameter | DBH > 5 cm | DBH > 12 cm | DBH > 20 cm | DBH > 30 cm | South-Facing | North-Facing |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number of plots [-] | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 25 | 10 |
Number of trees [-] | 1598 | 1360 | 1103 | 691 | 1314 | 284 |
Tree density [N/ha] | ||||||
Mean | 507 | 432 | 350 | 219 | 584 | 316 |
Minimum | 122 | 122 | 89 | 56 | 122 | 122 |
Maximum | 1067 | 755 | 600 | 456 | 1067 | 644 |
Standard deviation | 249 | 189 | 141 | 96 | 238 | 161 |
Measured Trees | Detected Trees | Detection Rate [%] | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
All DBHs | DBH > 12 | DBH > 20 | DBH > 30 | ||
1598 | 581 | 36 | 43 | 53 | 84 |
Plots | All Trees | DBH > 12 | DBH > 20 | DBH > 30 | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
R2 | RMSE | RMSE% | R2 | RMSE | RMSE% | R2 | RMSE | RMSE% | R2 | RMSE | RMSE% | |
All | 0.39 | 389 | 77 | 0.40 | 294 | 68 | 0.42 | 201 | 57 | 0.35 | 87 | 40 |
North | 0.68 | 176 | 56 | 0.68 | 124 | 44 | 0.74 | 101 | 39 | 0.80 | 68 | 33 |
South | 0.52 | 447 | 77 | 0.58 | 339 | 69 | 0.53 | 229 | 59 | 0.27 | 93 | 42 |
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Fatehi, P.; Damm, A.; Leiterer, R.; Pir Bavaghar, M.; Schaepman, M.E.; Kneubühler, M. Tree Density and Forest Productivity in a Heterogeneous Alpine Environment: Insights from Airborne Laser Scanning and Imaging Spectroscopy. Forests 2017, 8, 212. https://doi.org/10.3390/f8060212
Fatehi P, Damm A, Leiterer R, Pir Bavaghar M, Schaepman ME, Kneubühler M. Tree Density and Forest Productivity in a Heterogeneous Alpine Environment: Insights from Airborne Laser Scanning and Imaging Spectroscopy. Forests. 2017; 8(6):212. https://doi.org/10.3390/f8060212
Chicago/Turabian StyleFatehi, Parviz, Alexander Damm, Reik Leiterer, Mahtab Pir Bavaghar, Michael E. Schaepman, and Mathias Kneubühler. 2017. "Tree Density and Forest Productivity in a Heterogeneous Alpine Environment: Insights from Airborne Laser Scanning and Imaging Spectroscopy" Forests 8, no. 6: 212. https://doi.org/10.3390/f8060212