Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “tree density”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

AmeriFlux CA-SCC Scotty Creek Landscape

This is the AmeriFlux version of the carbon flux data for the site CA-SCC Scotty Creek Landscape. Site Description - The Scotty Creek flux tower is located in an organic-rich boreal forest-wetland landscape about 50 km south of Fort Simpson in the Taiga Plains of the Mackenzie watershed. The tower was installed in 2013 and operates an open-path EC system year-round running on solar power only. Flux footprints contain about 50 % forested peat plateaus and 50 % wetlands (i.e., collapse-scar bogs). The forests are underlain by permafrost, while the treeless wetlands are permafrost-free. The tower itself is located on a forested peat plateau. Black spruce tree density on plateaus is sparse and the mean canopy height is ca. 5 m.

Sonnentag, Oliver↗
DOE OSTI2024

AmeriFlux FLUXNET-1F CA-SCC Scotty Creek Landscape

This is the AmeriFlux Management Project (AMP) created FLUXNET-1F version of the carbon flux data for the site CA-SCC Scotty Creek Landscape. This is the FLUXNET version of the carbon flux data for the site CA-SCC Scotty Creek Landscape produced by applying the standard ONEFlux (1F) software. Site Description - The Scotty Creek flux tower is located in an organic-rich boreal forest-wetland landscape about 50 km south of Fort Simpson in the Taiga Plains of the Mackenzie watershed. The tower was installed in 2013 and operates an open-path EC system year-round running on solar power only. Flux footprints contain about 50 % forested peat plateaus and 50 % wetlands (i.e., collapse-scar bogs). The forests are underlain by permafrost, while the treeless wetlands are permafrost-free. The tower itself is located on a forested peat plateau. Black spruce tree density on plateaus is sparse and the mean canopy height is ca. 5 m.

Sonnentag, Oliver↗
NASA NTRS1985

Mapping diverse forest cover with multipolarization airborne radar

Imaging radar backscatter in continuously forested areas contains information about the forest canopy; it also contains data about topography, landforms, and terrain texture. For purposes of radar image interpretation and geologic mapping researchers were interested in identifying and separating forest canopy effects from geologic or geomorphic effects on radar images. The objectives of this investigation was to evaluate forest canopy variables in multipolarization radar images under conditions where geologic and topographic variables are at a minimum. A subsidiary objective was to compare the discriminatory capabilities of the radar images with corresponding optical images of similar spatial resolution. It appears that the multipolarization images discriminate variation in tree density, but no evidence was found for discrimination between evergreen and deciduous forest types.

Ford, J. P.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Forest discrimination with multipolarization imaging radar

The use of radar polarization diversity for discriminating forest canopy variables on airborne synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) images is evaluated. SAR images were acquired at L-Band (24.6 cm) simultaneously in four linear polarization states (HH, HV, VH, and VV) in South Carolina on March 1, 1984. In order to relate the polarization signatures to biophysical properties, false-color composite images were compared to maps of forest stands in the timber compartment. In decreasing order, the most useful correlative forest data are stand basal area, forest age, site condition index, and forest management type. It is found that multipolarization images discriminate variation in tree density and difference in the amount of understory, but do not discriminate between evergreen and deciduous forest types.

Ford, J. P.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Forest discrimination with multipolarization imaging radar

The relations between polarization signatures and biophysical characteristics through a range of different forest environments were investigated using airborne synthetic-aperture (SAR) images acquired at L-band on March 1, 1984 in South Carolina. SAR data acquired in four linear polarization states with 10-m spatial resolution were encoded as color composite images and compared to US Forest Service forest stand data. The most useful correlative forest data were stand basal area, forest age, site condition index, and forest management type. It is found that the multipolarization images discriminate variation in tree density or difference in the amount of understory, but no evidence has been found for discrimination between evergreen and deciduous forest types.

Ford, J. P.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Polarimetric radar data decomposition and interpretation

Significant efforts have been made to decompose polarimetric radar data into several simple scattering components. The components which are selected because of their physical significance can be used to classify SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) image data. If particular components can be related to forest parameters, inversion procedures may be developed to estimate these parameters from the scattering components. Several methods have been used to decompose an averaged Stoke's matrix or covariance matrix into three components representing odd (surface), even (double-bounce) and diffuse (volume) scatterings. With these decomposition techniques, phenomena, such as canopy-ground interactions, randomness of orientation, and size of scatters can be examined from SAR data. In this study we applied the method recently reported by van Zyl (1992) to decompose averaged backscattering covariance matrices extracted from JPL SAR images over forest stands in Maine, USA. These stands are mostly mixed stands of coniferous and deciduous trees. Biomass data have been derived from field measurements of DBH and tree density using allometric equations. The interpretation of the decompositions and relationships with measured stand biomass are presented in this paper.

Sun, Guoqing↗
NASA NTRS2011

Canopy Spectral Invariants. Part 1: A New Concept in Remote Sensing of Vegetation

The concept of canopy spectral invariants expresses the observation that simple algebraic combinations of leaf and canopy spectral reflectance become wavelength independent and determine two canopy structure specific variables the recollision and escape probabilities. These variables specify an accurate relationship between the spectral response of a vegetation canopy to incident solar radiation at the leaf and the canopy scale. They are sensitive to important structural features of the canopy such as forest cover, tree density, leaf area index, crown geometry, forest type and stand age. This paper presents the mathematical basis of the concept which is linked to eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the three-dimensional radiative transfer equation.

Knyazikhin, Yuri↗
NASA NTRS2018

Snowex 2017 Community Snow Depth Measurements: A Quality-Controlled, Georeferenced Product

Snow depth was one of the core ground measurements required to validate remotely-sensed data collected during SnowEx Year 1, which occurred in Colorado. The use of a single, common protocol was fundamental to produce a community reference dataset of high quality. Most of the nearly 100 Grand Mesa and Senator Beck Basin SnowEx ground crew participants contributed to this crucial dataset during 6-25 February 2017. Snow depths were measured along ~300 m transects, whose locations were determined according to a random-stratified approach using snowfall and tree-density gradients. Two-person teams used snowmobiles, skis, or snowshoes to travel to staked transect locations and to conduct measurements. Depths were measured with a 1-cm incremented probe every 3 meters along transects. In shallow areas of Grand Mesa, depth measurements were also collected with GPS snow-depth probes (a.k.a. MagnaProbes) at ~1-m intervals. During summer 2017, all reference stake positions were surveyed with <10 cm accuracy to improve overall snow depth location accuracy. During the campaign, 193 transects were measured over three weeks at Grand Mesa and 40 were collected over two weeks in Senator Beck Basin, representing more than 27,000 depth values. Each day of the campaign depth measurements were written in waterproof field books and photographed by National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) participants. The data were later transcribed and prepared for extensive quality assessment and control. Common issues such as protocol errors (e.g., survey in reverse direction), notebook image issues (e.g., halo in the center of digitized picture), and data-entry errors (sloppy writing and transcription errors) were identified and fixed on a point-by-point basis. In addition, we strove to produce a georeferenced product of fine quality, so we calculated and interpolated coordinates for every depth measurement based on surveyed stakes and the number of measurements made per transect. The product has been submitted to NSIDC in csv format. To educate data users, we present the study design and processing steps that have improved the quality and usability of this product. Also, we will address measurement and design uncertainties, which are different in open vs. forest areas.

Brucker, L.↗
NASA NTRS2022

Modeling Demographic-Driven Vegetation Dynamics and Ecosystem Biogeochemical Cycling in NASA GISS’s Earth System Model (ModelE-BiomeE v.1.0)

We developed a demographic vegetation model, BiomeE, to improve the modeling of vegetation dynamics and ecosystem biogeochemical cycles in the NASA Goddard Institute of Space Studies' ModelE Earth system model. This model includes the processes of plant growth, mortality, reproduction, vegetation structural dynamics, and soil carbon and nitrogen storage and transformations. The model combines the plant physiological processes of ModelE's original vegetation model, Ent, with the plant demographic and ecosystem nitrogen processes that have been represented in the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory's LM3-PPA. We used nine plant functional types to represent global natural vegetation functional diversity, including trees, shrubs, and grasses, and a new phenology model to simulate vegetation seasonal changes with temperature and precipitation fluctuations. Competition for light and soil resources is individual based, which makes the modeling of transient compositional dynamics and vegetation succession possible. Overall, the BiomeE model simulates, with fidelity comparable to other models, the dynamics of vegetation and soil biogeochemistry, including leaf area index, vegetation structure (e.g., height, tree density, size distribution, and crown organization), and ecosystem carbon and nitrogen storage and fluxes. This model allows ModelE to simulate transient and long-term biogeophysical and biogeochemical feedbacks between the climate system and land ecosystems. Furthermore, BiomeE also allows for the eco-evolutionary modeling of community assemblage in response to past and future climate changes with its individual-based competition and demographic processes.

Biogeochemical cycles↗
NASA NTRS1992

Estimating structural attributes of Douglas-fir/western hemlock forest stands from Landsat and SPOT imagery

Relationships between spectral and texture variables derived from SPOT HRV 10 m panchromatic and Landsat TM 30 m multispectral data and 16 forest stand structural attributes is evaluated to determine the utility of satellite data for analysis of hemlock forests west of the Cascade Mountains crest in Oregon and Washington, USA. Texture of the HRV data was found to be strongly related to many of the stand attributes evaluated, whereas TM texture was weakly related to all attributes. Data analysis based on regression models indicates that both TM and HRV imagery should yield equally accurate estimates of forest age class and stand structure. It is concluded that the satellite data are a valuable source for estimation of the standard deviation of tree sizes, mean size and density of trees in the upper canopy layers, a structural complexity index, and stand age.

Cohen, Warren B.↗
DOE OSTI2019

NITROGEN CAN LIMIT OVERSTORY TREE GROWTH FOLLOWING EXTREME STAND DENSITY INCREASE IN A PONDEROSA PINE FOREST

Extreme stand density increases have occurred in ponderosa pine forests throughout the western U.S. since the early 20th Century, with adverse implications for growth, physiological functioning, and mortality risk. Identifying primary stressors on large, old overstory trees in dense forests can inform management decisions to promote resilience and survival. We tested the impact of stand density increase on overstory treering growth, and the relative influence of water and nitrogen, in an old-growth ponderosa pine forest subject to variable density increase. We measured annual tree-ring growth and carbon discrimination in trees before stand density increased, in a climatically-similar period post-density increase, and in recent transition to drought. We expected density-driven water stress to drive reduced tree-ring growth in overstory trees in dense stands. We found reduced growth and higher mortality in dense stands, but nitrogen rather than water constrained growth, as determined by carbon isotope discrimination in tree rings, leaf nitrogen concentration, and soil nitrogen supply. In dense stands, less available nitrogen limited photosynthetic rate, leading to reduced assimilation of intracellular 13C and higher discrimination with low tree-ring growth and a reduced relationship with climate. This unexpected result illustrates that a variety of limiting factors can influence forest dynamics, as density-driven nitrogen limitation interacts with water stress to influence tree growth and physiological functioning.

dendroecology, tree-ring width, limiting factors, ↗
NASA NTRS2012

Forest Canopy Cover and Height from MISR in Topographically Complex Southwestern US Landscape Assessed with High Quality Reference Data

This study addresses the retrieval of spatially contiguous canopy cover and height estimates in southwestern USforests via inversion of a geometric-optical (GO) model against surface bidirectional reflectance factor (BRF) estimates from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR). Model inversion can provide such maps if good estimates of the background bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) are available. The study area is in the Sierra National Forest in the Sierra Nevada of California. Tree number density, mean crown radius, and fractional cover reference estimates were obtained via analysis of QuickBird 0.6 m spatial resolution panchromatic imagery usingthe CANopy Analysis with Panchromatic Imagery (CANAPI) algorithm, while RH50, RH75 and RH100 (50, 75, and 100 energy return) height data were obtained from the NASA Laser Vegetation Imaging Sensor (LVIS), a full waveform light detection and ranging (lidar) instrument. These canopy parameters were used to drive a modified version of the simple GO model (SGM), accurately reproducing patterns ofMISR 672 nm band surface reflectance (mean RMSE 0.011, mean R2 0.82, N 1048). Cover and height maps were obtained through model inversion against MISR 672 nm reflectance estimates on a 250 m grid.The free parameters were tree number density and mean crown radius. RMSE values with respect to reference data for the cover and height retrievals were 0.05 and 6.65 m, respectively, with of 0.54 and 0.49. MISR can thus provide maps of forest cover and height in areas of topographic variation although refinements are required to improve retrieval precision.

Chopping, Mark↗
DOE OSTI2025

Mortality correlates with tree functional traits across a wood density gradient in the Central Amazon

Introduction: Understanding the mechanisms of tree mortality in tropical ecosystems remains challenging, in part due to the high diversity of tree species and the inherently stochastic nature of mortality. Plant functional traits offer a mechanistic link between plant physiology and performance, yet their ability to predict growth and mortality remains poorly understood. Given recent increases in tree mortality rates in the Amazon forest following extreme drought and wind events, we tested if lower wood density and acquisitive plant functional traits were associated with increased growth and mortality for common co-occurring trees in the Central Amazon. Methods: Seventeen trees of different species with similar sizes but a range in wood density (WD) and wood traits were felled, then assessed for 27 different individual functional parameters, including whole tree architecture, stem xylem anatomical and hydraulic traits and leaf traits. Traits of the individual trees were related to stand-level growth and mortality rates collected periodically over 30 years from nearby permanent inventory plots. Results: Higher wood density was associated with smaller leaf size, lower foliar base cations, lower stem water content and sapwood fraction, in agreement with the fast-slow plant economics spectrum. Lower wood density was associated with more acquisitive characteristics with greater hydraulic capacity and foliar nutrient concentrations, correlating with greater growth and mortality rates. Discussion: Our results show that lower wood density is part of a coordinated suite of traits linked to high resource acquisition, fast growth, and increased mortality risk, providing a functional framework for predicting species performance and forest vulnerability under future climate stress.

demographics↗
NASA NTRS2023

Tree Growth Enhancement Drives a Persistent Biomass Gain in Unmanaged Temperate Forests

While enhanced tree growth over the last decades has been reported in forests across the globe, it remains unclear whether it drives persistent biomass increases of forest stands, particularly in mature forests. Enhanced tree growth and stand-level biomass are often linked with a simultaneous increase in density-driven mortality and a reduction in tree longevity. Identifying empirical evidence regarding the balance between these processes is challenging due to the confounding effects of stand history, management, and environmental changes. Here, we investigate the link between growth and biomass via the negative relationship between average tree size and stand density (tree number per area). We find increasing stand density for a given mean tree size in unmanaged closed-canopy forests in Switzerland over the past six decades and a positive relationship between tree growth and stand density across forest plots—qualitatively consistent with our simulations using a mechanistic, cohort-resolving ecosystem model (BiomeE). Model simulations show that, in the absence of other disturbances, enhanced tree growth persistently increases biomass stocks despite simultaneous decreases in carbon residence time and tree longevity. However, the magnitude of simulated biomass changes for a given growth enhancement critically depends on the shape of the mortality functions. Our analyses reconcile reports of growth-induced reductions of tree longevity with model predictions of persistent biomass increases, and with our finding of trends toward denser forests in response to growth—also in mature stands.

biomass stocks↗
DOE OSTI2023

AmeriFlux FLUXNET-1F US-Lin Lindcove Orange Orchard

This is the AmeriFlux Management Project (AMP) created FLUXNET-1F version of the carbon flux data for the site US-Lin Lindcove Orange Orchard. This is the FLUXNET version of the carbon flux data for the site US-Lin Lindcove Orange Orchard produced by applying the standard ONEFlux (1F) software. Site Description - The experimental site was a citrus orchard about three km west of the UC Lindcove Research and Experiment Station. The site is characterized by a Mediterranean climate typical of Central California, with warm dry summers and cool wet winters. The soil texture for the upper horizon (0-33 cm) was loam with a particle size distribution of 42% sand, 38% silt, and 20% clay (Kearney Ag Center). Soil pH was 7.4 (Valley Tech Soil Agricultural Laboratory Services). The orchard was drip-irrigated with water applied twice per week in the warm season to ensure water avail- ability close to field capacity. The site was kept clean from understory vegetation and mechanical pruning operations took place twice a year to limit the size ofthe orange trees for harvesting and site maintenance. The block of trees in which the tower and instruments were located was ‘Valencia’ orange on trifoliate rootstock, with a planting date in the 1960’s. The square 4 ha block had dimensions of 200 m NeS and EeW. At the end of the study, we harvested a ‘Valencia’ citrus tree from within the study block to measure citrus leaf area index (LAI) and biomass density. The tree height was 3.7 m as measured with a telescoping pole. We measured canopy radii in the four cardinal directions to calculate a planar area (as seen from above) of 12.2 m2. The mean specific leaf area (SLA) of citrus leaves was 85.4 cm2 g-1 obtained by measuring leaf area of five groups of leaf samples with a LiCor Leaf area meter (mod. LI-3100C) followed by drying and weighing. LAI for the orchard was 3.00, derived using the SLA value and the total dry mass of leaves from the harvested tree, multiplied by the plant population of 237 plants per ha as obtained from spacing measurements and Google Maps imagery.

Fares, Silvano↗
NASA NTRS1988

Attenuated direct and scattered wave propagation on simulated land mobile satellite service paths in the presence of trees

Measurements were made of direct path with no trees, attenuated direct, and tree scattered signal levels at 1.3 GHz. Signals were received in two small groves of mixed hardwood trees. In the groves studied, average total signal levels were about 13 dB below adjacent no-trees locations, with attenuated direct signal levels about 14.6 dB below the no-trees case and scattered signals about 17.3 dB below the no-trees case. A simple model for land mobile satellite service (LMSS) propagation in groves of trees is proposed. The model assumes a constant scattered signal contribution at 17 dB below no-trees levels added to an attenuated direct signal which varies, depending on the number and density of trees in the direct path. When total signal levels are strong, the attenuated direct signal dominates. When total signal levels are more than 15 dB below no-trees levels, the scattered signals dominate.

Campbell, Richard L.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Canopy reflectance modeling in a tropical wooded grassland

The Li-Strahler canopy reflectance model, driven by LANDSAT Thematic Mapper (TM) data, provided regional estimates of tree size and density in two bioclimatic zones in Africa. This model exploits tree geometry in an inversion technique to predict average tree size and density from reflectance data using a few simple patameters measured in the field and in the imagery. Reflectance properties of the trees were measured in the study sites using a pole-mounted radiometer. The measurements showed that the assumptions of the simple Li-Strahler model are reasonable for these woodlands. The field radiometer measurements were used to calculate the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and the integrated NDVI over the canopy was related to crown volume. Predictions of tree size and density from the canopy model were used with allometric equations from the literature to estimate woody biomass and potential foliar biomass for the sites and for the regions. Estimates were compared with independent measurements made in the Sahelian sites, and to typical values from the literature for these regions and for similar woodlands. In order to apply the inversion procedure regionally, an area must first be stratified into woodland cover classes, and dry-season TM data were used to generate a stratum map of the study areas with reasonable accuracy. The method used was unsupervised classification of multi-data principal components images.

Simonett, David↗