Developing an GIS-based ECA calculator for forest disturbances
Abstract
Forest disturbance plays an important role in hydrologic process of large forested watersheds. In order to quantitatively estimate forest disturbances accumulating over time and space in a large watershed, an integrated indicator is necessary. Equivalent clear-cut area (ECA) that indicates the spatial pattern of disturbances and subsequent forest recovery processes is a better indicator than total disturbed area or forest cover rate. However, it is time-consuming and complicated to calculate ECA in a large watershed because of data collection and calculation over millions of harvested, burned, and infested forest stands. Thus, a GIS-based software named "CECA Computation and Assessment Tool" was developed to simplify ECA computing process, which can not only output calculated time-series of watershed-level ECA over a defined study, ECA spatial distribution, but also display spatiotemporal dynamic change of stand-level ECA. In general, this software is a useful tool for assessing forest disturbances at larger spatial scales, which will further benefit forest hydrologists to evaluate the effects of forest disturbances on hydrology.
- Publication:
-
EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- April 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019EGUGA..21.4713M