Estimating Carbon Storage of a Temperate North American Forest with Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS)
Abstract
Secondary forests in North America act as one of the largest active carbon sinks in the world, yet current estimates of forest biomass are widely varied when based on allometric equations alone. Remote sensing data such as LIDAR offers an excellent method of quantifying biomass, but information on structural heterogeneity is often lost, even with postings of approximately 0.5 meters. In order to inform estimates of biomass and carbon storage the use of a high-precision Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) can be employed and three-dimensional structure of the forest can be resolved with sub-centimeter accuracy, improving current allometric equations. This technology is utilized on 16 15-meter radius plots within the temperate forest of the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute outside of Front Royal, VA with a Faro Focus 3D. A stem map of this forest has recently been created, allowing a direct comparison between manual measurement methods and TLS. Standard measurements such as DBH, tree height, and basal area can then quickly be calculated within the three-dimensional point cloud. A DEM at the plot scale is developed with the point cloud data and the structure of the forest can be resolved. Volumetric calculations can be used to determine biomass at the plot level, a fine-scale variable that is otherwise not obtainable without destruction of the sample. The calculation of biomass will inform current estimates of carbon storage that have been made with course 30 m resolution data (i.e. Landsat). Canopy and understory structure can be analyzed with these methods, helping inform current knowledge of habitat suitability and complexity.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013AGUFM.B51I0416S
- Keywords:
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- 0480 BIOGEOSCIENCES Remote sensing;
- 0428 BIOGEOSCIENCES Carbon cycling;
- 0476 BIOGEOSCIENCES Plant ecology;
- 0499 BIOGEOSCIENCES New fields (not classifiable under other headings)