Crown closure segmentation on wetland lowland forest using the mean shift algorithm

The availability of high and very high-resolution imagery is helpful for forest inventory, particularly to measure the stand variables such as canopy dimensions, canopy density, and crown closure. This paper describes the examination of mean shift (MS) algorithm on wetland lowland forest. The study objective was to find the optimal parameters for crown closure segmentation Pleiades-1B and SPOT-6 imageries. The study shows that the segmentation of crown closure with the red band of Pleiades-1B image would be well segmented by using the parameter combination of (hs: 6, hr: 5, M: 33) having overall accuracy of 88.93% and Kappa accuracy of 73.76%, while the red, green, blue (RGB) composite of SPOT-6 image, the optimal parameter combination was (hs:2, hr: 8, M: 11), having overall accuracy of 85.72% and kappa accuracy of 68.33%. The Pleiades-1B image with a spatial resolution of (0.5 m) provides better accuracy than SPOT-5 of (1.5 m) spatial resolution. The differences between single spectral, synthetic, and RGB does not significantly affect the accuracy of segmentation. The study concluded that the segmentation of high and very high-resolution images gives promising results on forest inventory.

Phytoindication assessment of the effect of reconstruction on the light regime of an urban park

The ecological restoration of urban parks is used to increase their recreational attractiveness, improve air quality, mitigate urban heat island effects, improve stormwater infiltration, and provide other social and environmental benefits. The dynamics of plant communities after urban forest restoration requires investigation. The study assessed the impact of urban park reconstruction on the state of grass cover, phytoindication of changes in light regime caused by park reconstruction and found out the dependence of reliability of phytoindication assessment on the number of species in the relevant area. The study was conducted in the recreational area of the Botanical Garden of the Oles Honchar Dnipro National University (Ukraine). A tree plantation was created after the Second World War in the location of a natural oak forest. In 2019, a 2.8 ha area of the park was reconstructed. The samples were taken within polygons, two of which were placed in the reconstruction area and two of which were placed in a similar section of the park where no reconstruction was performed. During the reconstruction process, walkways were rebuilt, shrubs were removed, old, damaged trees were removed, and tree crowns were trimmed. Juvenile trees were planted in place of the removed old trees. Old outbuildings, which greatly impaired the aesthetic perception of the park, were also removed. Transport and construction machinery was involved in the reconstruction. A total of 65 plant species were found within the studied polygons. The number of herbaceous species in the park area after reconstruction was higher than without reconstruction. The crown closure in the reconstructed area was significantly lower than that in the untreated conditions. The phytoindication assessment showed that the light regime varies from the conditions suitable for the scyophytes (plants of typical foliage forests) to the conditions suitable for the sub-heliophytes (plants of light forests and shrubberies, or high herbaceous communities; lower layers are in the shade). The light regime in the park area after reconstruction was statistically significantly different from the regime in the untreated park area. The lighting regime after the reconstruction was favourable to sub-heliophytes, and without reconstruction the regime favoured hemi-scyophytes. Tree canopy crown closure negatively correlated with grass height and herbaceous layer projective cover. The tree canopy crown closure, grass height, and herbaceous layer projective cover were able to explain 86% of the phytoindication assessment of the lighting regime variation. These parameters negatively affected the light regime. The prospect of further research is to investigate the dependence of indicative reliability of the assessment of other environmental factors with the help of phytoindication depending on the number of species. In addition to the indication of traditional ecological factors it is of particular interest to clarify the aspect of the dynamics of hemeroby indicators as a result of park reconstruction.

Raising the Bar: Height Threshold and Grid Resolution Influence Repeatability of Crown Closure Estimation by Airborne Laser Surveys

Monitoring crown closure evolution using multi-temporal Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) surveys is a method that we expect to be increasingly adopted given the availability of LiDAR sensors and the accumulating survey archives. However, little attention was devoted to comparing crown closure estimates from independent surveys. Although survey parameters cannot be modified after the data collection, we speculate that the error associated to crown closure estimates comparison can be reduced by selecting optimal post-survey parameters. In this study, we compared crown closure estimates of three airborne LiDAR surveys from 2018 (40 pt/m²) used as a reference, and two lower-density surveys from 2016 (4.5 pt/m²) and 2018 (2 pt/m²). We studied the effect of the height threshold used to separate canopy points and the grid resolution, using skewness and variance of lagged difference of crown closure. Crown closure estimates using low height thresholds were more different across surveys, resulting in higher root mean squared error (RMSE), bias and more different variograms. Results show that optimal height threshold was 3 m and grid resolution was 25 m, although there was room for decision (RMSE of 7% and 5%, and bias of 4% and 0% for 2016 and 2018 low-density surveys).

Trends in wildfire burn severity across Canada, 1985 to 2015

Burn severity is an important component of the fire regime that has not yet been fully characterized for the forests of Canada. The objectives of this study were to: (i) create a Canada-wide geospatial database of burn severity for wildland fires across forested regions of Canada from 1985 to 2015, and (ii) use this database to evaluate seasonal and annual trends in burn severity across Canada and regionally using two different regional units (ecozones and Homogeneous Fire Regime zones (HFR)). We developed the 30-m resolution geospatial Canadian Landsat Burn Severity (CanLaBS) product from Landsat imagery, using values of pre-fire to post-fire differences in normalized burn ratios (dNBR) for nearly 60 Mha of area burned across Canada’s forests from 1985 to 2015, complemented with estimates of pre-fire forest composition, crown closure, and biomass. Our results suggest that burn severity is generally lower in spring fires than in summer ones nationally and in almost every regional unit. We found no consistent relationship between burn severity and annual area burned across ecozones. Finally, we observed a small but significant decrease in burn severity from 1985-2015 across Canada, although this is regionally variable. The CanLaBS database is publicly available at https://doi.org/10.23687/b1f61b7e-4ba6-4244-bc79-c1174f2f92cd

A Forest Attribute Mapping Framework: A Pilot Study in a Northern Boreal Forest, Northwest Territories, Canada

A methods framework is presented that utilizes field plots, airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR), and spaceborne Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) data to estimate forest attributes over a 20 Mha area in Northern Canada. The framework was implemented to scale up forest attribute models from field data to intersecting airborne LiDAR data, and then to GLAS footprints. GLAS data were sequentially filtered and submitted to the k-nearest neighbour (k-NN) imputation algorithm to yield regional estimates of stand height and crown closure at a 30 m resolution. Resulting outputs were assessed against independent airborne LiDAR data to evaluate regional estimates of stand height (mean difference = −1 m, RMSE = 5 m) and crown closure (mean difference = −5%, RMSE = 9%). Additional assessments were performed as a function of dominant vegetation type and ecoregion to further evaluate regional products. These attributes form the primary descriptive structure attributes that are typical of forest inventory mapping programs, and provide insight into how they can be derived in northern boreal regions where field information and physical access is often limited.

Forest structure and site conditions of boreal felt lichen (Erioderma pedicellatum) habitat in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada

Boreal felt lichen [Erioderma pedicellatum (Hue) P.M. Jorg. (1972)] occurs on mainland Nova Scotia as well as Cape Breton, growing almost entirely on balsam fir [Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.] in wet coastal forests. A Geographical Information System (GIS) based predictive model for E. pedicellatum habitat in Nova Scotia has facilitated surveys and guided conservation. We used this model to examine the relationship between presence of E. pedicellatum and forest structure (tree DBH, height, age, and crown closure, inter-tree distance, basal area of live and dead trees, and percent cover of shrubs, herbs, Sphagnum spp., and other mosses), and site conditions (topographic position, slope, aspect, and drainage) as well as the presence of lichen indicator species. Erioderma pedicellatum sites had significantly older trees, higher density of live trees, lower crown closure, lower basal area of live Picea mariana (Mill.) Britton, Sterns & Poggenb., lower basal area of live trees, higher basal area of dead trees, higher Sphagnum spp. cover, and lower shrub cover than unoccupied habitat. Erioderma pedicellatum sites were significantly less well drained and occurred on steeper slopes with a north or east aspect. Four macrolichens (Coccocarpia palmicola, Platismatia norvegica, Lobaria scrobiculata, and Sphaerophorus globosus) occurred at a significantly higher frequency at E. pedicellatum sites.

Assessing the Crown Closure of Nypa on UAV Images using Mean-Shift Segmentation Algorithm

<p>Utilization of very high-resolution images becomes a new trend in forest management, particularly in the detection and identification of forest stand variables. This paper describes the use of mean-shift segmentation algorithm on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) images to measure crown closure of nypa (Nypa fructicans) and gap. The 27 combinations of the parameter values such as spatial radius (hs), range radius (hr), and minimum region size (M). Gap detection and nypa crown closure measurements were performed using a hybrid between pixel-based (maximum likelihood classifier) and object-based approaches (segmentation). For evaluation of the approach performance, the accuracy assessment was done by comparing object-based classification results (segmentation) and visual interpretation (ground check). The study found that the best combination of segmentation parameter was the combination of hs 10, hr 10 and M 50, with the overall accuracy of 76,6% and kappa accuracy of 55.7%.</p>

Site preparation severity influences lodgepole pine plant community composition, diversity, and succession over 25 years

Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia Engelm.) ecosystems of central British Columbia face cumulative stresses, and management practices are increasingly scrutinized. We addressed trade-offs between “light-on-the-land” versus more aggressive silvicultural approaches by examining plant communities and indicator species (non-natives, berry producers, epiphytes, mycotrophs, pine rust alternate hosts) across a gradient of five or six site preparation treatments at the Bednesti trial (established 1987). We tested whether more severe site preparation (i) caused plant community composition to diverge from a 35- to 46-year-old reference forest, (ii) accelerated succession by hastening crown closure, or (iii) delayed succession by promoting seral species. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) ordination showed all treatments converging toward the reference forest composition. At 10 years, succession was incrementally delayed by more severe treatments; at 25 years, only burned windrows were still delayed. Mixed-effects models based on site preparation severity were better than crown closure models for 11 of 13 variables tested, suggesting that mostly belowground processes drive succession in these infertile ecosystems. Invasive hawkweeds persisted on all treatments at 25 years. Limited, contradictory data did not support using mechanical or fire treatments to reduce alternate hosts of pine stem rusts. Long-term trials such as Bednesti highlight the need for ecosystem-specific strategies and diverse approaches to accommodate conflicting benefits and risks of disturbance in forests.