Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “forest disturbance”

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 145 records · Page 8
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2013

Interagency Collaborators Develop and Implement ForWarn, a National, Near Real Time Forest Monitoring Tool

ForWarn is a satellite-based forest monitoring tool that is being used to detect and monitor disturbances to forest conditions and forest health. It has been developed through the synergistic efforts, capabilities and contributions of four federal agencies, including the US Forest Service Eastern Forest and Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Centers, NASA Stennis Space Center (SSC), Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and US Geological Survey Earth (USGS) Earth Research Observation System (EROS), as well as university partners, including the University of North Carolina Asheville's National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center (NEMAC). This multi-organizational partnership is key in producing a unique, path finding near real-time forest monitoring system that is now used by many federal, state and local government end-users. Such a system could not have been produced so effectively by any of these groups on their own. The forests of the United States provide many societal values and benefits, ranging from ecological, economic, cultural, to recreational. Therefore, providing a reliable and dependable forest and other wildland monitoring system is important to ensure the continued health, productivity, sustainability and prudent use of our Nation's forests and forest resources. ForWarn does this by producing current health indicator maps of our nation's forests based on satellite data from NASA's MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) sensors. Such a capability can provide noteworthy value, cost savings and significant impact at state and local government levels because at those levels of government, once disturbances are evident and cause negative impacts, a response must be carried out. The observations that a monitoring system like ForWarn provide, can also contribute to a much broader-scale understanding of vegetation disturbances.

Underwood, Lauren↗
NASA NTRS1974

Inventory of forest and rangeland and detection of forest stress

The author has identified the following significant results. Disturbances in a forest environment that cause reductions in forest area, timber volume, and timber growth can be detected on ERTS-1 combined color composites. However, detection depends on comparing a conventional aerial photograph taken at some base year with an ERTS-1 image taken in some subsequent year. In a test made on the Atlanta site, 1:63,360 scale aerial photo index sheets made in 1966 were compared with ERTS-1 image 1264-15445 (April 1973). Five factors were found important to detection reliability: (1) the quality of the imagery; (2) the season of the imagery; (3) the size of the disturbed area; (4) the number of years since the disturbances; and (5) the type of cutting treatment. Of 209 disturbances verified on aerial photography, 165 (or approximately 80%) were detected on the ERTS-1 image by one independent interpreter. Improved training and additional experience in using this low resolution imagery should improve detection. Of the two seasons of data studies (fall and early spring), early spring is the best for detecting land use changes. Generally speaking, winter, early spring, and early summer are the best times of year for detecting forest disturbances.

Heller, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS2022

Disturbances in North American Boreal Forest and Arctic Tundra: Impacts, Interactions, and Responses

Ecosystems in the North American Arctic-Boreal Zone (ABZ) experience a diverse set of disturbances associated with wildfire, permafrost dynamics, geomorphic processes, insect outbreaks and pathogens, extreme weather events, and human activity. Climate warming in the ABZ is occurring at over twice the rate of the global average, and as a result the extent, frequency, and severity of these disturbances are increasing rapidly. Disturbances in the ABZ span a wide gradient of spatiotemporal scales and have varying impacts on ecosystem properties and function. However, many ABZ disturbances are relatively understudied and have different sensitivities to climate and trajectories of recovery, resulting in considerable uncertainty in the impacts of climate warming and human land use on ABZ vegetation dynamics and in the interactions between disturbance types. Here we review the current knowledge of ABZ disturbances and their precursors, ecosystem impacts, temporal frequencies, spatial extents, and severity. We also summarize current knowledge of interactions and feedbacks among ABZ disturbances and characterize typical trajectories of vegetation loss and recovery in response to ecosystem disturbance using satellite time-series. We conclude with a summary of critical data and knowledge gaps and identify priorities for future study.

high-latitude↗
DOE OSTI2024

A large net carbon loss attributed to anthropogenic and natural disturbances in the Amazon Arc of Deforestation

The Amazon forest contains globally important carbon stocks, but in recent years, atmospheric measurements suggest that it has been releasing more carbon than it has absorbed because of deforestation and forest degradation. Accurately attributing the sources of carbon loss to forest degradation and natural disturbances remains a challenge because of the difficulty of classifying disturbances and simultaneously estimating carbon changes. We used a unique, randomized, repeated, very high-resolution airborne laser scanning survey to provide a direct, detailed, and high-resolution partitioning of aboveground carbon gains and losses in the Brazilian Arc of Deforestation. Our analysis revealed that disturbances directly attributed to human activity impacted 4.2% of the survey area while windthrows and other disturbances affected 2.7% and 14.7%, respectively. Extrapolating the lidar-based statistics to the study area (544,300 km 2 ), we found that 24.1, 24.2, and 14.5 Tg C y −1 were lost through clearing, fires, and logging, respectively. The losses due to large windthrows (21.5 Tg C y −1 ) and other disturbances (50.3 Tg C y −1 ) were partially counterbalanced by forest growth (44.1 Tg C y −1 ). Our high-resolution estimates demonstrated a greater loss of carbon through forest degradation than through deforestation and a net loss of carbon of 90.5 ± 16.6 Tg C y −1 for the study region attributable to both anthropogenic and natural processes. This study highlights the role of forest degradation in the carbon balance for this critical region in the Earth system.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Group size mediates effects of intraspecific competition and forest structure on productivity in a recovering social woodpecker population

Conservation of endangered social wildlife in disturbance-prone forests is challenging because direct and indirect effects of management strategies developed at the time of species’ listing when population density is low may change under high-density conditions in locally recovered populations. Here, we used piecewise structural equation modeling to evaluate direct and indirect drivers of productivity in the federally endangered cooperatively breeding red-cockaded woodpecker Dryobates borealis (RCW) on Savannah River Site, South Carolina, USA. We estimated direct and indirect relationships among group size, neighboring group sizes, fledgling production, density of cavity tree clusters occupied by RCWs, area satisfying threshold criteria of ≥22 stems ha –1 of pines ≥35.6 cm diameter at breast height (dbh), <1.4 m 2 ha –1 basal area (BA) of hardwoods 7.6–22.9 cm dbh, and <6% hardwood canopy cover, and area treated with prescribed fire, and tested whether group size mediated indirect effects of area satisfying threshold criteria on fledgling production. Increases in area with ≥22 stems ha –1 of pines ≥35.6 cm dbh and <1.4 m 2 ha –1 BA of hardwoods 7.6–22.9 cm dbh, and area treated with prescribed fire, but not area with <6% hardwood canopy cover, had direct positive effects on group size. Group size and area treated with prescribed fire, but not area satisfying threshold criteria, had direct positive effects on fledgling production. The direct effect of neighboring group sizes on fledgling production was negative and smaller relative to the direct positive effect of group size on fledgling production. Overall, our results indicate positive direct effects of group size on fledgling production outweighed negative direct effects of neighboring group sizes, and that group size mediated positive indirect effects of area satisfying structural threshold criteria on fledgling production. These findings indicate that ongoing forest management aimed to increase area with ≥22 pines ha –1 ≥35.6 cm dbh and <1.4 m 2 ha –1 BA of hardwoods 7.6–22.9 cm dbh will promote large group sizes, which in turn improve fledgling production and offset costs of heightened competition with neighboring groups under high-density conditions. Additionally, positive effects of area treated with prescribed fire on RCW group size and fledgling production indicate prescribed fire has unique contributions to woodpecker productivity, likely via direct effects on forest structure and potentially indirect effects on arthropod prey available to foraging RCWs. Furthermore, by simultaneously accounting for multiple drivers of productivity in social wildlife, our study contributes to the understanding of how increases in social wildlife population sizes can alter previously documented habitat-fitness relationships.

prescribed fire↗
DOE OSTI2023

Range-wide population assessments for subalpine fir indicate widespread disturbance-driven decline

Subalpine forests in western North America are threatened by rapid climate change, increased activity by endemic and exotic insects and diseases, and changing wildfire regimes. The interactive effects of these stressors have resulted in pronounced population declines in many subalpine tree species; however, a systematic assessment of the status and trends of subalpine forests is lacking. Subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa) is a widespread species across the western United States, with documented population declines in many parts of its distribution. Here we use subalpine fir as an initial leverage point to build a more complete understanding of subalpine forest baseline conditions and responses to environmental change. Specifically, we leverage the USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) database to (1) ask how subalpine fir populations are changing across the species’ distribution in the western US, (2) assess the drivers of recent subalpine fir population trends, and (3) explore whether those changes imply generalized species-wide and/or system-wide decline. We found that subalpine fir abundance and basal area are declining concurrently across ~ 62% of the species’ distribution, and increasing across ~ 19%. Range-wide, we estimated 25.02 ± 2.74 % subalpine fir mortality between 2000 and 2009 and 2010–2019 FIA inventory periods, with higher mortality concentrated in the eastern Oregon Cascades, central Idaho, and parts of southern Colorado. High regeneration density did not predict positive population trajectories, which were instead associated with higher rates of adult recruitment. While the importance of different mortality agents varied substantially between ecoregions, 83.4% of total range-wide mortality was related to fire or biological disturbance. Declining subalpine fir basal area coincided with declines in the basal area of other co-occurring tree species in 39% of subalpine forest area, and with increases in conspecific basal area in 22% of forest area. Fire disturbance was the single largest cause of subalpine fir mortality; however, even where subalpine fir fire mortality was high, mortality among other species was primarily caused by insects. In conclusion, our results suggest that subalpine fir declines across large portions of the western United States are driven by forest disturbance, and that declines in subalpine fir populations may be indicative of negative change in subalpine forest systems broadly.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2016

Disturbance and the Carbon Balance of US Forests: A Quantitative Review of Impacts from Harvests, Fires, Insects, and Droughts

Disturbances are a major determinant of forest carbon stocks and uptake. They generally reduce land carbon stocks but also initiate a regrowth legacy that contributes substantially to the contemporary rate of carbon stock increase in US forestlands. As managers and policy makers increasingly look to forests for climate protection and mitigation, and because of increasing concern about changes in disturbance intensity and frequency, there is a need for synthesis and integration of current understanding about the role of disturbances and other processes in governing forest carbon cycle dynamics, and the likely future of this and other sinks for atmospheric carbon. This paper aims to address that need by providing a quantitative review of the distribution, extent and carbon impacts of the major disturbances active in the US. We also review recent trends in disturbances, climate, and other global environmental changes and consider their individual and collective contributions to the US carbon budget now and in the likely future. Lastly, we identify some key challenges and opportunities for future research needed to improve current understanding, advance predictive capabilities, and inform forest management in the face of these pressures. Harvest is found to be the most extensive disturbance both in terms of area and carbon impacts, followed by fire, windthrow and bark beetles, and lastly droughts. Collectively these lead to the gross loss of about 200 Tg C y(exp -1) in live biomass annually across the conterminous US. At the same time, the net change in forest carbon stocks is positive (190 Tg C y(exp -1)), indicating not only forest resilience but also an apparently large response to growth enhancements such as fertilization by CO2 and nitrogen. Uncertainty about disturbance legacies, disturbance interactions, likely trends, and global change factors make the future of the US forest carbon sink unclear. While there is scope for management to enhance carbon sinks in US forests, tradeoffs with other values and uses are likely to significantly limit practical implementation. Continued and expanded remote sensing and field-based monitoring capabilities and manipulative experimentation are needed to improve understanding of the US forest carbon sink, and assess how disturbance processes are responding to the pressures of global environmental change. In addition, continued development and application of holistic, decision support tools that consider a range of forest values are needed to enable managers and policy makers to use the best available information for guiding forest resources now and into the future.

Williams, Christopher A.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Contrasting Patterns of Damage and Recovery in Logged Amazon Forests From Small Footprint LiDAR Data

Tropical forests ecosystems respond dynamically to climate variability and disturbances on time scales of minutes to millennia. To date, our knowledge of disturbance and recovery processes in tropical forests is derived almost exclusively from networks of forest inventory plots. These plots typically sample small areas (less than or equal to 1 ha) in conservation units that are protected from logging and fire. Amazon forests with frequent disturbances from human activity remain under-studied. Ongoing negotiations on REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation plus enhancing forest carbon stocks) have placed additional emphasis on identifying degraded forests and quantifying changing carbon stocks in both degraded and intact tropical forests. We evaluated patterns of forest disturbance and recovery at four -1000 ha sites in the Brazilian Amazon using small footprint LiDAR data and coincident field measurements. Large area coverage with airborne LiDAR data in 2011-2012 included logged and unmanaged areas in Cotriguacu (Mato Grosso), Fiona do Jamari (Rondonia), and Floresta Estadual do Antimary (Acre), and unmanaged forest within Reserva Ducke (Amazonas). Logging infrastructure (skid trails, log decks, and roads) was identified using LiDAR returns from understory vegetation and validated based on field data. At each logged site, canopy gaps from logging activity and LiDAR metrics of canopy heights were used to quantify differences in forest structure between logged and unlogged areas. Contrasting patterns of harvesting operations and canopy damages at the three logged sites reflect different levels of pre-harvest planning (i.e., informal logging compared to state or national logging concessions), harvest intensity, and site conditions. Finally, we used multi-temporal LiDAR data from two sites, Reserva Ducke (2009, 2012) and Antimary (2010, 2011), to evaluate gap phase dynamics in unmanaged forest areas. The rates and patterns of canopy gap formation at these sites illustrate potential issues for separating logging damages from natural forest disturbances over longer time scales. Multi-temporal airborne LiDAR data and coincident field measurements provide complementary perspectives on disturbance and recovery processes in intact and degraded Amazon forests. Compared to forest inventory plots, the large size of each individual site permitted analyses of landscape-scale processes that would require extremely high investments to study using traditional forest inventory methods.

Morton, D. C.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Disturbances in North American boreal forest and Arctic tundra: impacts, interactions, and responses

Ecosystems in the North American Arctic-Boreal Zone (ABZ) experience a diverse set of disturbances associated with wildfire, permafrost dynamics, geomorphic processes, insect outbreaks and pathogens, extreme weather events, and human activity. Climate warming in the ABZ is occurring at over twice the rate of the global average, and as a result the extent, frequency, and severity of these disturbances are increasing rapidly. Disturbances in the ABZ span a wide gradient of spatiotemporal scales and have varying impacts on ecosystem properties and function. However, many ABZ disturbances are relatively understudied and have different sensitivities to climate and trajectories of recovery, resulting in considerable uncertainty in the impacts of climate warming and human land use on ABZ vegetation dynamics and in the interactions between disturbance types. Here we review the current knowledge of ABZ disturbances and their precursors, ecosystem impacts, temporal frequencies, spatial extents, and severity. We also summarize current knowledge of interactions and feedbacks among ABZ disturbances and characterize typical trajectories of vegetation loss and recovery in response to ecosystem disturbance using satellite time-series. We conclude with a summary of critical data and knowledge gaps and identify priorities for future study.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

The Latent Dirichlet Allocation model applied to airborne LiDAR data: A case study on mapping forest degradation associated with fragmentation and fire in the Amazon region

1. LiDAR data are being increasingly used to provide a detailed characterization of the vertical profile of forests. This characterization enables the generation of new insights on the influence of environmental drivers and anthropogenic disturbances on forest structure as well as on how forest structure influences important ecosystem functions and services. Unfortunately, extracting information from LiDAR data in a way that enables the spatial visualization of forest structure, as well as its temporal changes, is challenging due to the high dimensionality of these data. 2. In this study, we show how the Latent Dirichlet Allocation model applied to LiDAR data (LidarLDA) can be used to identify forest structural types and how the relative abundance of these forest types changes throughout the landscape. The code to fit this model is made available through the open-source r package LidarLDA in github. We illustrate the use of LidarLDA both with simulated data and data from a large-scale fire experiment in the Brazilian Amazon region. 3. Using simulated data, we demonstrate that LidarLDA accurately identifies the number of forest types as well as their spatial distribution and absorptance probabilities. For the empirical data, we found that LidarLDA detects both landscape-level patterns in forest structure as well as the strong interacting effect of fire and forest fragmentation on forest structure based on the experimental fire plots. More specifically, LidarLDA reveals that proximity to forest edge exacerbates the impact of fires, and that burned forests remain structurally different from unburned areas for at least 7 years, even when burned only once. Importantly, LidarLDA generates insights on the 3D structure of forest that cannot be obtained using more standard approaches that just focus on top-of-the-canopy information (e.g. canopy height models based on LiDAR data). 4. By enabling the mapping of forest structure and its temporal changes, we believe that LidarLDA will be of broad utility to the ecological research community.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2011

Recent Rates of Forest Harvest and Conversion in North America

Incorporating ecological disturbance into biogeochemical models is critical for estimating current and future carbon stocks and fluxes. In particular, anthropogenic disturbances, such as forest conversion and wood harvest, strongly affect forest carbon dynamics within North America. This paper summarizes recent (2000.2008) rates of extraction, including both conversion and harvest, derived from national forest inventories for North America (the United States, Canada, and Mexico). During the 2000s, 6.1 million ha/yr were affected by harvest, another 1.0 million ha/yr were converted to other land uses through gross deforestation, and 0.4 million ha/yr were degraded. Thus about 1.0% of North America fs forests experienced some form of anthropogenic disturbance each year. However, due to harvest recovery, afforestation, and reforestation, the total forest area on the continent has been roughly stable during the decade. On average, about 110 m3 of roundwood volume was extracted per hectare harvested across the continent. Patterns of extraction vary among the three countries, with U.S. and Canadian activity dominated by partial and clear ]cut harvest, respectively, and activity in Mexico dominated by conversion (deforestation) for agriculture. Temporal trends in harvest and clearing may be affected by economic variables, technology, and forest policy decisions. While overall rates of extraction appear fairly stable in all three countries since the 1980s, harvest within the United States has shifted toward the southern United States and away from the Pacific Northwest.

Masek, Jeffrey G.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Shuttle imaging radar A analysis of land use in Amazonia

Over large areas in the tropics, satellite imagery is the principal source of data on the area, current stature, and extent of disturbance of the forests. The information from imagery that covers large areas at low resolution is greatly enhanced when different types of imagery can be compared. The paper presents a comparison of data from Landsat MSS and from the Shuttle Imaging Radar (SIR-A) L band HH polarization data for sites in the Amazon Basin. Results indicate that SIR-A backscatter from the undisturbed forest was lower than that from some disturbed areas and from flooded forests and that SIR-A brightness, increases nonlinearly with the Landsat normalized difference vegetation index. It is hypothesized that the brightest radar returns in southern Amazonia are from newly cleared forests that are littered with standing and fallen tree boles that function as corner reflectors; and that backscatter will diminish from disturbed areas over time as fields are burned repeatedly.

Stone, Thomas A.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Effects of hurricane disturbance and increased temperature on carbon cycling and storage of a Puerto Rican forest: a mechanistic investigation of above- and belowground processes (Final Technical Report)

The overall goal of the Tropical Responses for Altered Climate Experiment (TRACE) is to assess the effects of increasing temperature on tropical plant and soil carbon fluxes and storage as the forest recovers from major hurricane disturbance that occurred in September 2017. Ultimately, we aimed to reduce uncertainty and increase confidence with which tropical forests are represented in Earth System models to make more accurate global forecasts of future climate. We focused on both above- and belowground processes and explored temperature controls over critical aspects of carbon and nutrient cycling for tropical plants, soil, and microbes. TRACE is located in a wet tropical forest in the Luquillo Experimental Forest close to the USDA Forest Service Sabana Field Research Station in Luquillo, Puerto Rico. The warming treatment consists of six 4.7 m diameter plots. Three of the plots receive infrared warming and three have the same infrastructure but are not warmed (using ‘dummy’ heaters). Each plot was monitored from 2018-2023 to investigate two major questions: 1) Are there legacy effects of prior warming on forest recovery following hurricane disturbance? 2) Will the trajectory of forest recovery following disturbance be affected by warmer temperatures? Concurrent soil incubation experiments were conducted to enable more controlled mechanistic investigations of temperature response on microbial function. In sum, our goal was to use this novel climate manipulation experiment (the only of its kind in any tropical forest) and once-in-a-lifetime chance to assess how temperature and hurricane disturbance interact to affect coupled biogeochemical cycling in a tropical forest.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2023

Satellite Data Reveals a Recent Increase in Shifting Cultivation and Associated Carbon Emissions in Laos

Although shifting cultivation is the major land use type in Laos, the spatial-temporal patterns and the associated carbon emissions of shifting cultivation in Laos are largely unknown. This study provides a nationwide analysis of the spatial-temporal patterns of shifting cultivation and estimations of the associated carbon emissions in Laos over the last three decades. This study found that shifting cultivation has been expanding and intensifying in Laos, especially in the last five years. The newly cultivated land from 2016-2020 accounted for 4.5% (±1.2%) of the total land area of Laos. Furthermore, the length of fallow periods has been continuously declining, indicating that shifting cultivation is becoming increasingly intensive. Combining biomass derived from GEDI (Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation) and shifting cultivation maps and area estimates, we found that the net carbon emissions from shifting cultivation declined in 2001-2015 but increased in 2016-2020. The largest carbon source is conversion from intact forests to shifting cultivation, which contributed to 89% of the total emissions from 2001 to 2020. In addition, there were increased emissions from intensified use of fallow land. This research provides useful information for policymakers in Laos to understand the changes in shifting cultivation and improve land use management. This study not only supports REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) reporting for Laos but also provides a methodology for tracking carbon emissions and removals of shifting cultivation.

Shifting cultivation↗
NASA NTRS2018

Modeling the Interactive Effects of Spruce Beetle Infestation and Climate on Subalpine Vegetation

In the subalpine zone of the Rocky Mountains, climate change is predicted to result in an increase in the frequency and severity of spruce beetle outbreaks. Climate change itself may affect vegetation, potentially leading to changes in species composition. The direct and indirect effects of climate and disturbances on forest composition, biomass, and dynamics open the possibility for non-linear ecosystem responses. Modeling studies allow for the study of the interaction of these effects and their impact on the forest system. University of Virginia Forest Model Enhanced (UVAFME), an individual-based gap model that simulates forest dynamics and characteristics, is updated with a spruce beetle subroutine that calculates the probability for beetle infestation and potential mortalityof each tree on a plot. The updated model is then run with multiple scenarios that combine beetle infestation with current or altered climate at sites across the southern Rocky Mountains. Results show that spruce beetle infestations acted to facilitate competition with invading lower-elevation species, resulting in an increase in the biomass of historically lower elevation species and a further decline in Engelmann spruce biomass than occurred with solely bark beetle disturbance or solely climate change. We also found an initial enhancing effect between spruce beetle infestation and climate change; however, by the end of 100 yr of climate change and potential beetle infestation, climate had a dampening effect on spruce beetle infestation, through loss of host trees. These results are an important step in understanding the possible futures for vegetation of the Rocky Mountains as well as for spruce forests across the western United States and Canada.

Foster, Adrianna C.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Advanced NASA Earth Science Mission Concept for Vegetation 3D Structure, Biomass and Disturbance

Carbon in forest canopies represents about 85% of the total carbon in the Earth's aboveground biomass (Olson et al., 1983). A major source of uncertainty in global carbon budgets derives from large errors in the current estimates of these carbon stocks (IPCC, 2001). The magnitudes and distributions of terrestrial carbon storage along with changes in sources and sinks for atmospheric C02 due to land use change remain the most significant uncertainties in Earth's carbon budget. These uncertainties severely limit accurate terrestrial carbon accounting; our ability to evaluate terrestrial carbon management schemes; and the veracity of atmospheric C02 projections in response to further fossil fuel combustion and other human activities. Measurements of vegetation three-dimensional (3D) structural characteristics over the Earth's land surface are needed to estimate biomass and carbon stocks and to quantify biomass recovery following disturbance. These measurements include vegetation height, the vertical profile of canopy elements (i.e., leaves, stems, branches), andlor the volume scattering of canopy elements. They are critical for reducing uncertainties in the global carbon budget. Disturbance by natural phenomena, such as fire or wind, as well as by human activities, such as forest harvest, and subsequent recovery, complicate the quantification of carbon storage and release. The resulting spatial and temporal heterogeneity of terrestrial biomass and carbon in vegetation make it very difficult to estimate terrestrial carbon stocks and quantify their dynamics. Vegetation height profiles and disturbance recovery patterns are also required to assess ecosystem health and characterize habitat. The three-dimensional structure of vegetation provides habitats for many species and is a control on biodiversity. Canopy height and structure influence habitat use and specialization, two fundamental processes that modify species richness and abundance across ecosystems. Accurate and consistent 3D measurements of forest structure at the landscape scale are needed for assessing impacts to animal habitats and biodiversity following disturbance.

Ranson, K. Jon↗
DOE OSTI2026

AmeriFlux FLUXNET-1F US-Ho3 Howland Forest (harvest site)

This is the AmeriFlux Management Project (AMP) created FLUXNET-1F version of the carbon flux data for the site US-Ho3 Howland Forest (harvest site). This is the FLUXNET version of the carbon flux data for the site US-Ho3 Howland Forest (harvest site) produced by applying the standard ONEFlux (1F) software. Site Description - Closed conifer forest, minimal disturbance. References: Fernandez et al. (1993), Canadian Journal of Soil Science 73 317-328. Hollinger et al. (1999), Global Change Biology 5: 891-902. Savage KE, Davidson EA (2001), Global Biogeochemical Cycles 15 337-350. Scott et al. (2004), Environmental Management, Vol. 33, Supplement 1, pp. S9-S22. Hollinger et al. (2004), Global Change Biology 10: 1689-1706.

Ouimette, Andrew [USDA Forest Service]↗