Developing a regional canopy fuels assessment strategy using multi-scale lidar

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Abstract

Accurate assessments of canopy fuels are needed by fire scientists to understand fire behavior and to predict future fire occurrence. A key descriptor for canopy fuels is canopy bulk density (CBD). CBD is closely linked to the structure of the canopy; therefore, lidar measurements are particularly well suited to assessments of CBD. LANDFIRE scientists are exploring methods to integrate airborne and spaceborne lidar datasets into a national mapping effort. In this study, airborne lidar, spaceborne lidar, and field data are used to map CBD in the Yukon Flats Ecoregion, with the airborne lidar serving as a bridge between the field data and the spaceborne observations. The field-based CBD was positively correlated with airborne lidar observations (R2=0.78). Mapped values of CBD using the airborne lidar dataset were significantly correlated with spaceborne lidar observations when analyzed by forest type (R2=0.62, evergreen and R2=0.71, mixed). Though continued research is necessary to validate these results, they do support the feasibility of airborne and, most importantly, spaceborne lidar data for canopy fuels assessment.

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Publication type Conference Paper
Publication Subtype Conference Paper
Title Developing a regional canopy fuels assessment strategy using multi-scale lidar
Year Published 2011
Language English
Publisher Conference Secretariat
Contributing office(s) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center
Description 8 p.
Larger Work Type Conference Paper
Larger Work Title Proceedings of SilviLaser 2011, 11th International Conference on LiDAR Applications for Assessing Forest Ecosystems, University of Tasmania, Australia, 16-20 October 2011
First page 1
Last page 8
Conference Title SilviLaser 2011: 11th International Conference on LiDAR Applications for Assessing Forest Ecosystems
Conference Location Hobart, Australia
Conference Date October 16-20, 2011
Country United States
State Alaska
Other Geospatial Yukon flats eco-region
Online Only (Y/N) N
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
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