Determination of Sagebrush Aboveground Biomass Using Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS)

Download or read book Determination of Sagebrush Aboveground Biomass Using Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) written by Peter J. Olsoy and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Aboveground biomass estimation of sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) is essential for assessing habitat quality of threatened species, modeling vegetation dynamics from climate change, and modeling pre-fire fuel loads as well as post-fire succession. This research used terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) derived volume estimates as a proxy parameter for sagebrush aboveground biomass. Voxel and convex hull point cloud analysis methods, coupled with field-based data, were used to derive biomass. The results were used to compare with a field-based method, point-intercept sampling, and to monitor changes in biomass across seasons. Results from sampling at three sites across the Snake River Plain indicated that TLS-derived volumes can be used to measure seasonal differences in plant production. The convex hull volume explained 5% more variation in total biomass (R2 = 0.92) and 14% more variation in green biomass (R2 = 0.84) than the voxel volume. The results indicate TLS-derived point cloud data of sagebrush can be used to accurately approximate aboveground biomass.